Bio4Energy researchers together with industrial partners have invented a cost-efficient method designed to facilitate the production of fermentation products such as ethanol from cellulose from wood or woody residue from spruce and pine. The corresponding technology has been verified at Biorefinery Demonstration Plant at Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The new results are part of a package of four scientific articles, of which a techno-economic analysis published in the scientific journal Bioresource Technology.
Biochemical conversion of biomass aided by enzymes or yeast is a chief method for producing second-generation or more advanced biofuels and “green” chemicals based on lignocellulose from non-edible plants or parts of plants. For countries in the boreal belt like Sweden, Finland and Canada the most abundant raw materials for such biorefinery production come from coniferous trees. However, the composition of coniferous wood is complex and requires harsh treatment to be broken down into its components cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. This harsh so-called pre-treatment sometimes hampers the performance of the enzymes or yeast.
With their new method, the Bio4Energy researchers solve this problem. In a techno-economic analysis they describe how, in demonstration-scale experiments, they added the industrial chemical sodium sulphite to pre-treated cellulosic biomass from spruce trees at the conversion step to bioethanol. The results were an ample product yield and a time-efficient process. “Our invention increases product yields… Another benefit is the cost [of running this process]. We have shown that this process is realistic to implement on an industrial scale”, said research leader Leif Jönsson, professor at Umeå University in Sweden. Sodium sulphite is already in use as an additive in the pulping and textiles industries, but has not previously been added as a conditioning agent to biomass destined for biofuel making on an industrial scale. The new method “decreases the investment risk if you have a process based on softwood”, such as wood from spruce or pine trees, Jönsson added.
About
Bio4Energy is a research environment developing tools and methods for conducting efficient and sustainable biorefinery based on woody raw materials or organic waste. With 240 researchers spread across four universities and five research institutes, it conducts basic and applied research with a view to support business and industry striving to develop bioenergy solutions or bio-based products. Northern Sweden, where the research environment is based, is located in the boreal belt and plays host to large populations of spruce and pine trees. Umeå University, Luleå University of Technology, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, as well as Innventia and the SP Energy Technology Center, are Bio4Energy’s founders. The Swedish government has appointed Bio4Energy a Strategic Research Environment for the years 2010 to 2017.
