Biorefinery of the Future – the first two years · 2017-04-04 · 6 Biorefinery of the Future |...

Biorefinery of the Future

– the first two years

2 Biorefinery of the Future | Activity report 2010

The cross-boundary colla-borations in The Biorefinery of the Future are a winning concept. Promising projects linked to the future of green industries have been set up through joint paths between companies, public bodies and the academic world in Örnsköldsvik and Umeå.

he Biorefinery of the Future has its roots in the Örnsköldsvik-Umeå region. It includes academic

organisations, public services and trade and industry-based enterprises. That the parties in the various collaborations come from different sectors of the community is of great importance – the synergies that arise are of great value.

Ulf Edlund, former deputy vice chan-cellor for external relations and now senior adviser at Umeå University, believes the collaborations are necessary.

“When it comes to green enterpri-ses, Umeå is not a centre of trade and industry,” he says. “However, Örnsköldsvik is. Thus, collaborations across county borders are enormously important for us at Umeå University. Because we can benefit from the concentration of relevant companies there, the conditions for research in green technologies are better in Örnsköldsvik.”

UNIVERSITY AND INDUSTRY

IN THE SAME PLACE

Two professorships in industrial chemistry have been set up and partly located in Örnsköldsvik. On top of this, Umeå Uni-versity has five doctoral students stationed in the town. Three of them belong to the Business Graduate School and have been working on their theses since 2008. The Business Graduate School revolves around one or more companies that finance part of the position and Umeå University is the other part of the financing. In the present case, one of the doctoral students is col-laborating with SEKAB E-Technology and another with three separate enterprises (Domsjö Fabriker, Processum and Akzo Nobel).

“The collaborations between The Biorefinery of the Future and the Business Graduate School are exceptional,” com-

T

Biorefinery of the Future’s achievements

About two years has elapsed since Processum and its member companies

– along with the affiliated academies, municipalities and county admini-

strative boards in and around Umeå and Örnsköldsvik – won VINNVÄXT

(a national Funding programme run by Sweden’s innovation agency).

The award made us one of the twelve Swedish regional growth initiatives

aimed to promoting sustainable growth through the use of innovations. The

Biorefinery of the Future is the name of our joint growth initiative. With forest

and energy crops as the raw materials, our goal is to create new products,

new processes and new enterprises. What have we achieved so far?

The short answer is that, via joint investments in development and

innovation projects, our companies and universities have started some 50

different projects. Nearly all of these projects are directed towards progres-

sing from research to prototype and then to a new product that allows us to

use forests even more efficiently. A fuller answer is that we are building up

long-term meeting places, contact routes and networks that will accelerate

the pace of innovation in the region. As an example of this, more and more

personal contacts are now being established between our member compa-

nies and Umeå University.

In the same two-year space, the biorefinery concept has gone from

being a marginal phenomenon in the forest industry to being on every-

one’s lips. At the time of writing, it is clear that most of the major operators

in the forest industry and in the energy sector have started reviewing how

they wish to approach biorefinery issues. Many exciting plans are now

being drawn up. We have also noticed that interest in The Biorefinery of

the Future initiative is steadily increasing – many international visits to the

biorefinery site in Domsjö are taking place, the number of approaches from

international conferences is great and new companies are seeking to join

our collaborations.

However, what have we achieved at a more concrete level? The best

answer to that question is to be found in this report. The report covers typi-

cal collaborations, various market-destined products and projects and our

joint effort to build a new industry. Meet the people in our companies. Get

to know our professors, civil servants and ex-professionals. Learn about our

chemicals and materials. Join us at The Biorefinery of the Future!

Lea

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Clas Engström CEO, Processum

3Biorefinery of the Future | Activity report 2010

Energic

greencollaborationsacross county borders

ments Leif Jönsson, professor at Umeå University’s Department of Chemistry. “In particular, the forms of financing and the doctoral students actually doing their work externally at the companies.

“That the university has an external laboratory out amidst a group of compa-nies is unique, I’ve not heard of anything comparable anywhere else,” Jönsson continues. “The advantages are great – the companies have access to current re-search and the researchers get an insight into the companies’ operations. It also adds a further dimension to our courses,” states Jönsson.

Ulf Edlund sees major benefits in the pilot plant for ethanol production being in the industrial complex.

“As it enables us to scale up our labo-ratory trials, this has been an important investment for us. The ethanol pilot is the largest single investment now being made in liquid biofuels in Sweden. It is enor-mously important that it is taken further for future projects.”

The university and The Biorefinery of the Future* have also applied jointly for se-veral large projects (e.g. Bio4Energy and BioImprove). As one of twenty national, strategic, research fields, Bio4Energy has

been given a SEK 250 million government grant to carry out cutting-edge research into CHP plants and biorefineries. The cluster covers a total of more than 20 dif-ferent research companies and industrial partners.

In practice, this means 60 to 70 new research posts focused on biorefineries along Sweden’s Norrland coast – so-mething that would not have happened without the collaborations.

The purpose of BioImprove is to identify the chemical composition of wood and some of the molecular mechanisms that control biomass production. Following on from this, BioImprove also seeks to test how this knowledge can be used to improve the production of materials and green chemicals.

WITH FORCES JOINED

The collaborations have many elements. Companies and universities have, besides their involvement in the Business Graduate School and the two professorships, also helped to arrange conferences and seminars. In respect of problems that have arisen, companies have engaged univer-sity personnel as discussion partners. Similarly, universities benefit from the ex-pertise in the companies. A good example here is the planning and carrying out of process operator courses. Not the least of its results, this collaboration has so far generated five patent applications.“We are a small player in a global market, but we become bigger if we collaborate,” underlines Ulf Edlund. “We have to use each other and each other’s knowledge. We can’t worry about county borders.”

Four universities are members of Biorefinery of the Future: Luleå University, Umeå University, Mid Sweden University and the Swedish Univer-sity of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).


The traineeprogram – valuable network building

As one element in promoting the supply of expertise for its member companies, The Biore-finery of the Future has carried out a unique cross-company trainee programme for engi-neering graduates. At the end of the programme, three out of four trainees were employed by the companies. Emma Thelander was one of the trainees.

“Getting an insight into several companies’ operations was incredibly valuable. For rela-tively new engineering graduates, it’s parti-cularly important to widen both knowledge and networks,” relates Emma who after the programme was employed by Eurocon, one of the participating companies.

DEVELOPING EXPERTISE

Five companies collaborated to create this unique trainee programme. Although their operations are different, they share the desire to improve the supply not only of suitably skilled engineering graduates, but also of future managers and specialists.

“This is one of the pieces in our exper-tise investment jigsaw puzzle,” explains Jennie Söderström, the programme’s pro-ject manager. “We received 50 applications. This was well above expectations. We had guessed around half this number.”

NEW WORK PERIOD, NEW THEME

Domsjö Fabriker, Eurocon, SEKAB, MoRe Research and Övik Energi undertook to employ trainees for different parts of the trainees’ eighteen-month placements (which were on a project basis). Four months at each workplace and then time

for conclusions, personal development, evaluation of the period and an introduction to the next work period.

The individual work periods handled four different themes: production; accounts/finance/HR; business development; and, communication. This format appealed to Emma Thelander who was filling a temporary post at Umeå Energi when she saw the advert for the trainee programme in Örnsköldsvik.

“The area interested me and it seemed a good format,” informs Emma. “On arrival, the reception was magnificent, both from the participating companies and the project manager, Jennie Söderström. We felt truly welcome.”

AIMING TO EMPLOY

When the project started, the demand for la-bour was high and the need for recruitments was clear. However, the economic downturn during the course of the programme drasti-cally changed conditions. Nonetheless, three of the four trainees gained employment at the end of the project. Emma Thelander was employed on a project basis by Eurocon, but has just now been given an open-ended contract by the company.

“I think that the concept of a cross-com-pany trainee programme is good,” she says. “However, it does present quite a few challenges such as putting together appropriate work periods and creating easily delimited jobs and projects that are suitable for a four-month period. For my part, the programme’s greatest benefit was that I gained insight into the compa-nies’ various operations and got to know people and posts at various workplaces in the area.”

VALUABLE KEY PEOPLE

Jennie Söderström, project manager, is also satisfied.

“I feel this has been a successful way of recruiting good people to key roles. They learn about the companies and have the opportunity of collaborating with many decision makers and co-workers in the network. One bonus of this project was that the three people who were employed have become valuable people with wide contact networks. I hope that we can take the experience gained from this first attempt and start yet another trainee programme in the future.”

I feel this has been a successful way of recruiting good people to key roles.” Jennie Söderström, Project manager


InvEsTIng In chEmIsTry For ThE FUTUrEThe municipality of Örnsköldsvik is one of the joint financiers of our operations. An important part of this collaboration centres on ensuring that the process industry has access to qualified labour in the future. The “Green chemistry beyond petroleum project is one example.

This effort has its roots in KomTek, an enterprise that, with special chemistry groups aimed at children, has been running for several years in Örnsköldsvik. The goal is to excite a general interest in technology amongst Örnsköldsvik’s children and young people.

The chemistry academy at the Nolaskolan school is another way to promote chemistry. This specialisation is open to both natural scientists and technolo-gists. One of the main courses is “biorefineries”. Here, our compa-nies are real-life case studies and contribute guidance, equipment and consumables.


Unique conference in forest biotechnology and biorefineries There can be no doubt – cross-border networks push development forwards. When they are created at the highest level of expertise, they make a global difference.

The breaks provided plenty of opportunity for exchanging findings. Here, Innventia’s Lennart Salmén (on the right) discusses matters with colleagues from Cambridge University.

or two days in June, one hundred and seventy researchers and some fifty representatives of industry from

all around the world gathered in Örnsköld-svik to exchange information at a “Wood Biorefinery and Tree Biotechnology” work-shop. The Biorefinery of the Future and FuncFiber, a Formas-funded centre of excellence in wood science at Umeå Plant Science Centre, were the organisers. The aim of the event was to widen networks and stimulate new scientific collaborations by bringing together experts from academia and industry.

Biotechnology researchers were given an insight into what is already being produ-ced with wood as the raw material and how upcoming research developments can be

FI came here for se-veral reasons. The

programme was very interesting with wide appeal and presenta-tions from nano to ma-cro level. The speakers and their various expert areas contributed to so many people coming. Although travelling to Örnsköldsvik is more complicated than getting to Stockholm, holding the meeting here was an advantage because we could go on study visits and see profitable bio-refining in practice.”

Ross Whetten, professor at North Carolina State University, was one of many satisfied conference participants.

turned into products. The industry represen-tatives acquired a deeper understanding of biotechnological progress in the fields of raw materials and biorefining.

DYNAMIC APPROACH

Two of the goals within FuncFiber are to increase internationalisation and to pro-mote integration with industry. Funds for an international conference were already in place and Björn Sundberg, professor at SLU in Umeå and the event’s principal organiser, thought it was appropriate for industry to take part. So that the practical results of re-search could be presented, it was thus also natural for Örnsköldsvik to be the venue.

“We created a unique conference that, fo-cused on wood as a raw material, assembled internationally famous researchers in the fields of biorefining and forest biotechnology. Most usually, researchers and industrialists meet only their own kind in conferences devoted to their separate specialist areas. This was a diffe-rent approach with new people. It also proved to be dynamic,” reveals Björn Sundberg.

That so many highly qualified participants and speakers came is an acknowledgement that the Örnsköldsvik-Umeå region’s exper-tise in industrial biorefining and research is sought after far beyond Sweden’s borders.

“Umeå’s research has a good reputation internationally and we have a large network.


Unique conference in forest biotechnology and biorefineries

A MAGNET FOR NA-TIONAL AND INTER-NATIONAL VISITSIn a short space of time, “biorefinery” has become a buzz word, both in sweden and internationally. naturally enough, it is primarily the chase for alternatives to dwindling oil supplies that has increased the interest of politicians, researchers and companies.

The ambassadors for Brazil, China, the USA and UK are amongst the people who have visited Örnsköldsvik’s industrial cluster in 2010. Venture capitalists and leading politicians also figured prominently.

“The greatest attraction is that, whereas others are still at the planning stage, we have finished products to show. We are up and running as one of Europe’s largest biorefineries. Many people want to hear how we have succeeded,” states Clas Engström, CEO of the Processum cluster company.

Clearly enough, the visits are time-consuming. However, they also give a lot back – primarily in the form of good ideas and contacts in the international arena.

“Each visit is bringing new contacts into our R & D work. This is absolutely critical in our chase for new products that are forest-based.”

INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS

Over the operating year, the members of The Biorefinery of the Future have also given about fifty presentations at R & D conferences. Because the initiative has achieved a high international status, there is an upward trend here too. Finland, Belgium, Germany, the USA and China are amongst the countries to have sent invites this year.

AWARDS FOR OLA

In the present connection, Domsjö Fabriker (one of the com-panies in our cluster) and Ola Hildingsson (the company’s MD) have won a number of awards. In 2009, Domsjö Fabriker won “industry’s major sustainability prize”, an award given to the enterprise that best unites economy, ecology and social respon-sibility. In the same year, Ola was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA). Ola Hildingsson was next awarded an honorary doctorate by Umeå University’s Faculty of Science and Technology in 2010.

“I feel deeply honoured and happy. With the passing years, I have realised the importance of close and open collaborations between industry and academia,” comments Ola Hildingsson, who became the MD of Domsjö Fabriker in 2005.

The United Kingdom’s ambassador, Andrew Mitchell, on a visit in September 2010.

“As each invitation was accompanied by a list with an exciting mix of invitees, many people surely felt that they couldn’t miss the opportunity,” opines Sundberg.

A PACKED PROGRAMME

Amongst other things, the conference inclu-ded some 40 presentations with speakers from (for example) Brazil, the USA, Finland, France, South Africa and Germany. It was divided into eight sessions and covered the following areas: the industrial perspective; using biotechnological tools to refine raw wood inputs; study visits; structure and chemical composition of wood; pretreatment and enzymatic treatment for biorefining; and, green products and chemicals from cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.

We created a unique conference that,

focused on wood as a raw material, assembled internationally famous researchers in the fields of biorefining and forest biotechnology.” Björn Sundberg, Umeå Plant Science Center


Green liquor sludge on roadsThere are environmental and economic gains to be made if the idea of using green liquor sludge as a dust bin-der on dirt roads is realised on a large-scale. The trials so far show promising results.

wo of Umeå’s and Örnsköldsvik’s dirt roads have been treated with a product based on green liquor sludge. This was applied in slightly different ways. The dirt road outside Örnsköldsvik had its wear surface treated – the

product was spread over a freshly maintained road and then mixed into its top layer. Treatment finished with watering.

In the Dåvas area outside Umeå, the product was mixed into the entire wear layer. Instead of using the product purely as a dust binder, the idea was to have a wear layer with green liquor sludge as a significant component. Thus, the sludge content here was considerably higher and the product was mixed evenly throughout the layer.

FROM WET TO DRY

Green liquor sludge is a residual product from the manufacturing process at paper pulp mills. It comprises the very fine particles remaining after combustion in the recovery boiler and is normally regarded as waste for landfill. In its original state, green liquor sludge contains a lot of water and sulphides. It is also extremely alkaline.

“In the form it leaves the pulp manufacturing process, green liquor sludge is an impractical product, both as regards transport

T

Companies want an inexpen-sive and functional product. They see potential here.”Gunnar Westin, project manager


Green liquor sludge on roads

FROM RESEARCH TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTIn collaboration with the Biorefinery of the Future, Process IT, sEKAB E-Technology and others, Eurocon Analyzer has developed a new analysis instrument based on near-infrared (nIr) spec-troscopy. The instrument, which can be used for continuous measurement directly in a process stream, has excited great interest.

Eurocon Analyzer’s RedEye product enables the rapid and non-destructive analysis of quality variables (e.g. sugar/alcohol contents and other compounds) in complex process media. Measurement is “online”, i.e. directly in the process. Presently, such analyses are carried out manually in laboratories. At its inadequate best, this provides results the next day.

The instrument converts spectroscopic data into continu-ously measured values for readings such as sugar and alcohol content. The analyser can be used for both solutions and solids. This makes the technology attractive to a wide range of industries. Umeå University, for example, is testing the product for analyses of water and sewage.

CAME THROUGH SEVERE TESTS IN PRODUCTION

The project started as university examination work at Eurocon Analyzer and SEKAB E-Technology. Results were so good that, to further develop the product, the companies chose to enter into a collaboration with The Biorefinery of the Future and Process IT.

In the course of the project, a functioning near-infrared system was developed. This was successfully tested in, amongst other things, SEKAB’s ethanol pilot. The technology takes accurate measurements in the harsh environment of the ethanol pilot (high pressure, high temperature, mechanical stress and low pH). Measurement data from the instrument has been used for calculating not only sugar contents, but also dry solids content and the percentage of solids in solu-tions. The analysis results match reference measurements from laboratory tests.

“We have gone from research to commercial product,” relates Öjvind Sundvall at Eurocon Analyzer. “The product has excited great interest around the world. Its measurements are reliable. This is priceless in a manufacturing process. It gives more consistency in product quality and, by saving energy, also saves money. Our ambition is to widen the expertise around the measurement technology. The goal is to offer the process industry a product with full service/support for ‘online’ measurements with long-term dependability. Via the project, we have started to build up expertise in the area. Thanks to good collaboration within The Biorefinery of the Future, we have now succeeded in developing an analysis instrument and a service function that are sought after by our customers.”

and putting it on roads. Road maintainers don’t want a pro-duct in this form,” reveals Gunnar Westin, project manager at Processum. “When we have dried it, it is easy to handle and the sulphides have oxidised.”

The idea is that it should be possible to use green liquor sludge as a dust binder or wear layer on dirt roads. This is be-cause the sludge’s very fine particles retain water, a critical factor in keeping dust levels down. The tests carried out thus far show promising results.

THE GOAL – AN INEXPENSIVE AND FUNCTIONAL PRODUCT

“We have had certain problems in determining the quantities of green liquor sludge for the different purposes,” says Gunnar Westin. “However, we have worked on this and believe we have found a solution. More extensive trials will now be carried out.”

Leaching tests for the Umeå road indicate that green liquor sludge in dirt roads is also good from the environmental stand-point. Rather than contributing to the leaching out of contami-nants, the sludge product hinders it.

“Companies want an inexpensive and functional product. They see potential here,” comments Gunnar Westin. “Skanska, M-real, Ragn-Sells and SCA in Obbola have shown great interest in continuing to develop the product. If, with Skanska’s help, interest can be created in the product, a sulphate pulp mill could find an economically and environmentally beneficial outlet for its green liquor sludge. Throughout, Processum has managed this project within the framework of Biorefinery of the Future. It has required not inconsiderable time and money. As the tests now show signs that this is going to work, I am looking forward to the continuation.”


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THE LEADING FOREST INDUSTRY RESEARCHERS, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPERS, TRAINERS AND PUBLIC SERVICES MAKING IT POSSIBLECOMPANIES | Akzo nobel Functional chemicals | Brux| Domsjö Fabriker | Eurocon | holmen skog | metso Power | more research | m-real, sverige | Processum Biorefinery Initiative | ragn-sells AvfallshanteringscA Packaging obbola | sEKAB | sveaskog Förvaltning | Umeå Energi | Övik Energi | UNIVERSITIES | Luleå tekniska Universitet (LTU) | mittuniversitetet | sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (sLU) | Umeå universitetPUBLIC SERVICES | BioFuel region | Länsstyrelsen västernorrland | Umeå Kommun | Örnsköldsviks kommun | Almi |handelskammaren | mittsverige | vInnovA | Energimyndigheten

1. Yeast cultivation, Domsjö

2. Dried lignosulphonate

3. Chip extraction

4. Red-Eye-instrument

5. Chip moisture measurement

6. Cellulose from hemp

7. Green liquor sludge on roads

8. Biofuel and enzyme from

fibre sludge

9. Electricity from waste heat

10. Lignosulphonate in grinding

11. Forest fertiliser

12. Ethanol purification

13. Energy crops

14. Plywood replacement

15. Carbon dioxide extraction

16. Energy-efficient aeration

17. Fibre tornado

18. Ash for casting

19. Cymene from turpentine

20. Doteye

21. Fine fraction from pellets

22. Acid-resistant yeast

23. Sulphate lignin

24. Arginine extraction

25. Biosludge washing

26. Use of extractives

27. Sulphur reduction

28. Sludge drying

29. High-value cellulose

30. Carbohydrate balance

31. Enzymatic hydrolysis

32. SSFF (new ethanol

production process)

33. 2X (new lignosulphonate product)

34. Denaturing agents

35. Torrefaction

36. Biogas pilot

37. Bark press water

38. Exploitation of landfill bark

39. Energy optimisation of

combined heat and power

plants

Biorefinery of the Future involves companies, public service functions and universities in the Örnsköldsvik-Umeå region. Together, we run processes and projects in which the goal, using forest and energy crops, is to meet today’s energy and climate challenges. The dia-gram below shows examples of development projects within the framework of The Biorefinery of the Future.

Innovation tree


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COLLABORATION ALONG THE NORRLAND COAST INITIATED

DOMSJÖ DECISION ON NEW LIGNOSULPHONATE DRYER

THE EU SUNLIBB PROJECT

OLA HILDINGSSON RECEIVES “INDUSTRY'S ENVIRONMENT PRIZE”

BIOGAS NORR NETWORK FORMED

MORE START TO PERFORM BIO-REFINERY ASSIGNMENTS

CLEANTECH REGION WINS INTERNATIO-NAL PRIZE

DOMINNOVA RESEARCH DEPARTMENT FORMED

BIOREFINERY INCLUDED IN VÄSTERNORRLAND COUNTY'S REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN

CLUSTER STRATEGY FOCUSED ON BIOREFINERY

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THE LEADING FOREST INDUSTRY RESEARCHERS, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPERS, TRAINERS AND PUBLIC SERVICES MAKING IT POSSIBLECOMPANIES | Akzo nobel Functional chemicals | Brux| Domsjö Fabriker | Eurocon | holmen skog | metso Power | more research | m-real, sverige | Processum Biorefinery Initiative | ragn-sells AvfallshanteringscA Packaging obbola | sEKAB | sveaskog Förvaltning | Umeå Energi | Övik Energi | UNIVERSITIES | Luleå tekniska Universitet (LTU) | mittuniversitetet | sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (sLU) | Umeå universitetPUBLIC SERVICES | BioFuel region | Länsstyrelsen västernorrland | Umeå Kommun | Örnsköldsviks kommun | Almi |handelskammaren | mittsverige | vInnovA | Energimyndigheten

Important eventsBiorefinery of the Future is a steadily growing cluster. Its members collaborate on joint and individual investments. The diagram below shows a selection of important events since the start-up of Processum. Circle size is a subjective illustration of how important the events have been in the development of The Biorefinery of the Future. Blue circles relate to events within Processum. Green events are linked to several of the members. The diagram shows the temporal dynamics of cluster growth and how generic the deve-lopment is. Consequently, it must not be regarded as a comprehensive representation of development.


cleaning waste water is expensive. Using funds from Processum and others, sorubin has developed an aeration technology that dramatically reduces energy consumption. In the autumn, the first reference plant for cleaning industrial waste water is to be installed at vIDA Paper in Lessebo.

orubin, led by its CEO, Stefan Sandström, is investing in a technology it really believes in. In the 1980s, Stefan came into contact with some inventors who were working on a

new technology for oxygenating water. Their work was at an early stage and they never succeeded in creating a commercial product.

In February 2009, Sorubin started its operations by putting all the technical pieces of the jigsaw puzzle into place. Sorubin’s first aerator, Stormrotor®, was born! The area of application was the aeration of leachate ponds. In August of the same year (six months after the start-up), the first commercial installation was carried out at the Strandmossen landfill in Kristinehamn. Today, six Swedish landfill sites have Stormrotor® aeration.

PROCESSUM A PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT

The idea has always been to also create a product that, using the same technology, can be used in municipal and industrial water treatment facilities. This product is Microluft. Via collaborations with customers and a large number of completed tests, several connections have crystallised around the new technology’s complexity.

“Processum has truly lived up to its undertaken mission of supporting and participating in the development of the technolo-gies of the future,” says Stefan Sandström.

Using funds from Processum, a comprehensive pilot study

S

NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT SAVES ENERGY WITH


for Microluft was carried out at Domsjö Fabriker, M-real in Husum and VIDA Paper in Lessebo. Through study visits, issues have been clarified and, in close dialogue with energy and process engineers, the new aeration technology’s rightful place in the special type of water treatment required by Swedish paper mills has been mapped out. In a continuation of these pilot studies, VIDA Paper in Lessebo has decided to invest in Microluft® for its biocleaning facilities.

“In the test period, we had definite confirmation of the technology’s usefulness and we are very close to having a finis-hed product to launch for industrial water purification,” reveals Stefan. This autumn, the first stage in a plant valued at SEK 7.3 million (if the customer goes all the way to the goal) is to be instal-led at VIDA Paper. We have calculated that it will save the custo-mer millions through radically decreased energy costs – down from SEK 3.8 million a year to barely SEK 1 million a year.”

LESS RESISTANCE, LESS ENERGY

Two factors make Sorubin’s products energy-efficient. The first is that Sorubin’s aerators have extremely small energy losses in creating bubbles, something that otherwise demands a lot of energy using present aeration technologies.

“Our technology moves air. Other technologies move water,” explains Stefan. “After all, if you think about it, running surrounded

by air is much easier than running surrounded by water.”The other factor making the technology energy-

efficient is that air is spread through the water via small, rather than large, bubbles. This gives better aeration and uses less energy.

In spring 2010, the perseverance of Sorubin’s work resulted in an important patent. This is of the “gate keeper” type and is expected to give Soru-bin, as a company, a long-term raison d’être.

“Thanks to funds and collaborations with companies that are members of Processum, development has been faster than estima-ted,” affirms Stefan. “We’re looking forward to launching Microluft® as early as the first quarter of 2011.”

Our technology moves air. Other technologies move water.” explains Stefan.”Stefan Sandström, CEO Sorubin

©Photograph copyright Matti Sedholm

© Copyright Sorubin AB


green

one of the many ongoing projects within The Biore-finery of the Future revolves around manufacturing aviation fuel from one of the residual products of sulphate pulp mills. This product is cymene and still something of an unknown quantity. however, the potential is enormous.

ike cymene itself, the idea of trying to extract aviation fuel from this substan-ce is natural. At the start of the new

millennium, researchers from MoRe analysed turpentine residues from an old sulphite mill at a disused industrial estate (Köpmanholmen) approximately twenty kilometres south of Örnsköldsvik. To their surprise, the turpentine in the ground had changed to cymene.

“It was a stroke of luck that we hit upon and started to research this substance. We carried out masses of analyses and conclu-ded that cymene has properties similar to that of jet fuel. It has a low freezing point, does not take up moisture (thereby helping avoid ice formation) and does not boil too quickly,” declares Jörg Brücher, currently a researcher at Holmen Energi’s biorefinery centre.

SAFETY ABOVE ALL ELSE

With the R&D grant from The Biorefinery of the Future, the research gathered new speed and, today, it is Holmen Energi, Domsjö Fabriker, Processum, Umeå University and Hjelmco Oil (a manufacturer of fuel for piston aircraft) who are now driving it forwards.

“Because it must take the known before the unknown, the aviation industry is very

L

Plywood replacement for caravansCaravan manufacturers currently use large quantities of plywood in their products. The material is delivered as boards that are put together to form the interior walls of caravans. As the supply of plywood is uncertain and the material depletes the rain forests, the two entrepre-

Is it possible to invent a material to replace plywood in

the manufacture of caravans? Two entrepreneurs from

västerbotten got in touch with Processum for help with

investigating the matter.

conservative. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to an unnecessary lag as regards, for example, environmental developments,” explains Jörg.

Hjelmco is an exception. This company has 50 to 80 percent of the market for aviation spirit in Sweden. Its CEO, Lars Hjelmberg, leads one of ASTM’s working groups studying alternative bio-based aviation fuels for private aircraft. ASTM is an international standards organisation and the group has itself developed a lead-free spirit for aircraft with piston engines. It is this spirit that is now the object of research in respect of possible mixing with the forest-based cymene.

“We are testing whether cymene is suitable and which additives we must mix in,” reveals Jörg. “Most probably, we will be carrying out practical trials this autumn.”

BENEFITS FOR ALL

Domsjö Fabriker’s active role in the project is attributable to this company also handling large quantities of residual turpentine that, in the digestion process, turns into cymene. Presently, this cymene is burnt. Finding a new field of application thus involves a two-

sided business gain (i.e. for both Domsjö Fabriker and Hjelmco Oil) and an enormous environmental benefit.

“Cymene is also found in cinnamon and, compared with other hydrocarbons, is light. It is not entirely non-toxic, but the environmental benefits of having a green source in lead-free mixtures will definitely be enormous,” says Jörg Brücher.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

With high oil prices and environmental taxes,

collaboration gives

aviation fuel


neurs wanted to find a new and better solution. They turned to Processum and The Biorefinery of the Future.

The idea is to produce a similar material by using cellulose to which an epoxy resin made from soya beans is added. After being compressed the material is left to cure. This new material has several advantages. Because it does not deplete the rain forests in the same way as plywood, it is more environment-friendly. It is not as hard as plywood and can thus be delivered in large pieces (on rolls instead of as boards). In its turn, this

means that caravan walls can be made in single pieces, i.e. without joins that may leak.

Following many successful and unsuccessful trials, there is now a material that can potentially be used in the future manufacture of caravans. A prototype caravan with inner walls of this material has been made with good results. In the course of the project, the parties in the collaboration were introduced to each other and are now working towards producing the material on a larger scale.

a strong environmental lobby and the USA’s air force as the driving forces, alternative fuels will be introduced sooner or later. The greatest threats to this are the industry’s long and expensive certification processes. These cause many development projects to stop halfway. For these reasons, there is no competition as regards bio-based aviation fuels. The risk, just as the potential, is great. Nonetheless, Jörg underlines that, in the long term, the available quantities of turpen-tine far from cover the global need.

“The cymene that the forest industry can cough up is perhaps sufficient for an around 10% addition. That’s why a combina-tion of initiatives is required, reduced fuel consumption being amongst those that are necessary.”

Thus, what is there to stop this project also grinding to a halt?

“Turpentine and cymene are exciting chemicals that may also lead to products other than fuel. We have the input sub-stance itself and will definitely be working on

this until we have the quantities necessary for the first engine tests.”

Jörg also emphasises the value of colla-boration within The Biorefinery of the Future.

“It is, quite simply, an exceedingly good concept. Collaboration is what leads to success. We, ourselves, normally carry out research in the paper industry on pulp, cardboard and paper. The help and input provided by Hjelmco and Umeå University have been vital in this project,” concludes Jörg Brücher.

Turpentine and cymene are exciting chemicals that may also lead to pro-ducts other than fuel.”Jörg Brücher, researcher Holmen Energi’s biorefinery center.


Prize-winning doctoral thesis

crosses borders

nna Svedberg is a doctoral student at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and employed by Processum Biorefinery Initiative in Örnsköldsvik. The prize of SEK 500,000 has to be used to develop knowledge of the flocculation mecha-

nisms in paper making.By using magnetic resonance imaging to study the impact

of various additives on a flowing fibre solution, Anna was able to confirm her hypothesis that it is possible to modify the classic relationship between retention and formation in paper making. Previously, it had been difficult to improve one without impairing the other. After two years, Anna found a solution when she used existing chemical components in an entirely new way that can considerably improve the paper’s properties.

In conjunction with “Forest Industry Week”, the prize was presented by HRH Prince Carl Philip on the 20th of April. Anna used the prize money to spend four months at the University of California in Davis, the USA.

“The purpose of my stay abroad at UC Davis was to learn more about fundamental transport phenomena in fibre suspensions,” states Anna. “Similar studies hadn’t previously been carried out at UC Davis. It was fantastic to see the resources they invested in the project.”

Presently, the research areas in which UC Davis primarily uses magnetic resonance imaging technology are the foodstuffs industry and transport phenomena linked to production of biofuels and cellulose derivatives.

One condition attached to the prize was that Anna must, in various ways, disseminate the results of her work throughout Sweden’s forest industry. This will happen in the autumn.

“It is also important to further develop the collaboration started with UC Davis,” emphasises Anna. “My work has shown that the same technology can be used to study entirely different issues. Consequently, representatives from UC Davis are coming to Örnsköldsvik this autumn to learn more about the biorefinery and make contacts. On top of this, we also see possible collaborations and fields of application for magnetic resonance imaging techno-logy in the process streams in our investments,” she concludes.

A

Anna svedberg and Processum won the 2010 gunnar sundblad research Foundation’s competence development prize. This was awarded for Anna’s trail-blazing trials in the work for her doctoral thesis and to facilitate the gaining of new knowledge in the research area of flocculation mechanisms.


Cleaning with many advantagesIn its ambition to clean methanol, a residual product, metso has developed a process with a great many environmental benefits. The results are a cleaner handling of stripper methanol and a process that may lead to new products. To test and optimise the patented process on a large scale, it is now a question of finding parties interested in a collaboration.

“For me, the greatest driving force has been to find methods of cleaning our methanol and thus be able to reuse it in another way than, as at present, burning it,” says Anders Norberg of Metso Power. Anders is one of the innovators behind the patented process, Purimeth®. It has now emerged that the new process has many advantages. These include it being possible to pluck a host of exciting new products from the by-products generated in the process.

THREE STEPS TOWARDS LESS

CONTAMINATION

The problem with the methanol released in the sulphate pulp process is that it is hea-vily contaminated. Amongst other things, it contains nitrogen and reduced sulphur, which make the methanol both toxic and difficult to handle. Presently, the methanol is burnt. This can require complex and expensive combustion equipment.

Anders Norberg felt that there should be other ways to handle methanol.

As a first step, a process for removing the nitrogen from the methanol was develo-ped. However, because of the sulphur, the methanol still had an unpleasant smell. A second step was thus to chemically oxidise the sulphur, thereby eliminating the odour problem and making the methanol more useable/easier to handle. A third step, currently under development, is distilling the methanol and drawing off the remaining sulphur. This leaves behind me-thanol that has been cleaned of nitrogen, sulphur and the latter’s characteristic smell.

EXCITING POTENTIAL IN

THE BY-PRODUCTS

One bonus of the process is that the nitrogen and sulphur by-products can be reused. The nitrogen can be reused in oth-er parts of the original process. However, use in various forms of fertilisers is also amongst the other possibilities.

It should be possible to reuse the oxidi-sed sulphur in other processes, even if it is not yet clear how and in which part of

the whole process. Looking away from the potential products that can be develo-ped from the by-products, the cleaner methanol is better for burning than is that generated by today’s methanol system. It gives cleaner flue gases and is thus a greener option for sulphate pulp mills that have separate methanol combustion.

“Purimeth should have enormous potential,” declares Anders Norberg. “Large pulp factories with high energy surpluses should be able to earn a lot from this. Companies that pay penalty taxes for nitrogen emissions would save money and, furthermore, earn something from the by-products. What we now need is a company that is ready to invest in a pilot-scale methanol cleaning process. This is so that we can verify and optimise the process on a larger scale than thus far,” explains Anders, who has great belief in this innovation

Energy crops from arable land

The goal of the “Energy crops from arable land” project is to spread knowledge of, and increase interest in, the potential (even in northern Sweden) of energy crops such as hemp and Salix. The expectation is that this will influence more people to grow energy crops on their land and create networks between farmers, universities and the municipality of Örnsköldsvik.

Biofuels presently satisfy twenty percent of Sweden’s energy consumption. The need for raw materials is constantly increasing. Part of this need can be covered by using arable land for fuel production. Both national and local government

have seized on this. Within the municipality of Örnsköldsvik, energy crops are a prioritised initiative over the next few years.

So far, financed by Värmeforsk (Thermal Engineering Research Institute), trial cultivation of Salix has taken place in Västernorrland and Jämtland. This has shown that, using the new, more frost-resistant varieties, crops can be grown even in central Norrland. Also in progress are trials to compress chop-ped hemp (so that it can be transported as a material ready for use in heating plants) and to find hemp fibre refining possibili-ties that will give further economic return on the crop.

In Örnsköldsvik, within the framework of Biorefinery of the Future and co-financed by the EU’s structural funds, the project is run and owned by Övik Energi. The findings so far are now being made use of by Energiodlarna Nolaskog (“The Nolaskog Energy Growers”). This association is run by representatives of the growers and works closely with Biorefinery of the Future. All those with an interest in energy cultivation are welcome!

In Örnsköldsvik, active development of the culti-vation of energy crops is ongoing. The EU project “Energy crops from arable land” has, amongst other things, shown that, even in northern swe-den, it is perfectly possible to grow a frost-resistant variety of salix.


Cheaper and greener plastics

s a by-product, hydrolysis lignin is a highly condensed lignin that is insoluble in water. However, its energy value is high and the ambition is to either extract an optimal fuel from the hydrolysis lignin or to find other fields of

application, e.g. as a filler in plastics.Small-scale tests have been carried out in which the hydrolysis

lignin has been used as a filler in plastics, composites and two-component systems. The tests with plastics have given extremely promising results. As a filler, the hydrolysis lignin does not impair the quality of the plastic. Indeed, it rather improves it and, additio-nally, less fossil material is used for the same quantity of plastic. However, there is the disadvantage that the hydrolysis lignin is dark and turns the plastic black. This slightly limits the fields of application, but there are always products where the colour of the plastic is of no importance (e.g. canoes or other objects that will, in any case, be varnished).

“We’re adding value to the hydrolysis lignin by-product while also reducing the use of fossil materials in plastic,” says Hans Grundberg, development engineer at Processum. “The next step is to carry out larger scale trials. We also want to see if it works as well with lignin from other raw materials. This would considerably increase the potential. If it succeeds, we will have contributed to cheaper and greener plastics.”

and ecologically, to use the fibre sludge for producing liquid biofuels, materials or various chemicals.

Fibre sludge generally contains high quantities of carbohydrates and low quantities of lignin. This means that it may be a suitable raw material for the produc-tion of liquid biofuels such as ethanol. As a product, ethanol has a relatively low trade price and is sold in large volumes.

Thus, it would be advantageous if part of the fibre sludge was used for producing higher value products, such as enzymes.

In the recent study, the possibility of using fibre sludge for co-production of ethanol and the enzyme xylanase was investigated. Using enzymes that break down cellulose (enzymatic hy-drolysis), fibre sludge from a pulp mill was first turned into sugar. The sugar was then fermented into ethanol and the ethanol was purified through distil-lation. After distillation, the residual product (stillage) was then used as a cultivation medium for a filamentous fungus that produced xylanase.

The study shows that fibre sludge can be used as a raw material for co-production of liquid biofuels and enzymes. Pilot-scale testing and a techno-economic evaluation of the concept are the next steps.

At sEKAB’s pilot ethanol production plant, one of the by-products is hydrolysis lignin. In collaboration with two small development companies, the possibility of using the hydrolysis lignin in various plastic compounds is being investigated. The aim is cheaper and greener plastics that may even have improved properties.

Pulp and paper manufacture gives rise to a number of residual products, fibre sludge being one of these. Fibre sludge comprises wood fibres that are too short or contaminated to be used. howe-ver, a newly completed study within The Biorefinery of the Future shows possibilities for capitalising on fibre sludge.

Prior to 2005, fibre sludge was normally sent to landfills. A prohibition on putting organic waste into landfills has resulted in fibre sludge now being burnt. However, burning fibre sludge is not an ideal solution. The sludge has a high moisture content and thus gives little energy on combustion. Seen from a biorefinery perspective, it would be desirable, both economically

BIOFUEL AND ENzYME FROM FIBRE SLUDGE

A


Greatly reduced energy consumption

ignosulphonate is an efficient dispersing agent, e.g. for water reduction in concrete. Indeed, it is

used to reduce water consumption in the production of concrete. It is also used in the manufacture of tiles, other ceramic products and pigments. As a binder, lignosulphonate is additionally used in, for example, feed pellets and mineral briquet-tes as well as for dust binding on roads.

COLLABORATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

On the initiative of MoRe Research, a pro-ject was started to evaluate the possibility of using lignosulphonate to reduce the energy needed by paper mills. The project is a collaboration within The Biorefinery of the Future and involves, amongst others, Processum, MoRe Research, Domsjö Fabriker and SCA Obbola.

Trials have been conducted by produ-cing special lignosulphonate fractions via a pilot trial using MoRe Research’s ultrafiltra-tion pilot. Using MoRe Research’s paper pilot, it was then possible to evaluate how lignosulphonate affects energy consump-tion in a manufacturing process. The results have been very promising.

“These trials have shown us that it is possible to greatly reduce the energy

Within The Biorefinery of the Future, there is currently a project for refining the lignosulphonate formed in the sulp-hite digestion of wood. The ambition is to reduce paper mill energy consumption.

OLD BARK LANDFILL ACqUIRES NEW VALUEHow can we use the bark that saw mills and pulp factories traditionally consigned to landfill? Hopefully, this question can be answered after a joint development project by Svea-skog and Holmen Skog.

“The bark was previously seen as a worthless residual product and consigned to enormous landfills that can still be found in many places around Sweden. However, we now see bark as a resource and, in this project, we are investigating if it can be reused for bioenergy and other commercially interesting purposes,” explains Jessica Nordin, project ma-nager and environmental technician at Sveaskog.

LITTLE DECOMPOSITION

The landfill used in the project is in Näske (just outside Örnsköldsvik) and contains 150,000 cubic metres of bark. Because the bark was covered with soil, nature has slowly adapted and the enormous mound has grown over with scrub and bushes.

“When we cleared these away, we could see with the naked eye that there had been relatively little decom-position,” reveals Jessica Nordin.

Because the bark had been mixed with stones and grit, it must be sorted before it can be reused.

“Additionally, heating plants can-not take the finest fractions of bark because these have too high an ash content, which must thus also be removed. At present, we have no really good methods for this.”

SEVERAL FIELDS OF APPLICATION

If the bark can be reused as a bio-fuel, this in itself will be a conside-rable resource. However, the finest fractions of bark that are removed at sorting are also interesting for soil improvement.

“We have still not fully evaluated the project. Yet, if we can find a good way of sorting the bark and can transport it at a reasonable cost, then it would be attractive for recycling. Especially now with the demand for renewable energy constantly increasing,” concludes Jessica Nordin.

L need,” affirms François Lambert, one of the project workers. “Per paper mill, savings could amount to several million Swedish kronor a year. It was also shown that the paper’s properties were impro-ved. We are now proceeding with further studies. Amongst other things, we have to study how it affects the rest of the process. We are also going to investigate whether different lignosulphonates have different properties. Only then can there be large-scale factory trials.

“The project is a good example of bio-refinery development and paper process development going hand in hand.”

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