INNOVATIVE CHEMISTRY IS A LEVER FOR A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY Today the chemical sector still makes intensive use of fossil-based raw materials. Europe, however, must import most of these from other regions and, what s more, the supply of oil and gas is finite. To become less dependent on geopolitical and price fluctuations, the European chemical sector has every interest in making use of other raw materials not based on fossil fuels. Thus the chemical industry must reinvent itself in order to maintain its strong position. The Chemistry unit at VITO develops technologies and industrial processes that support and accelerate this transition in the chemical sector. SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY Bert Bouwman (Unit Manager) Karolien Vanbroekhoven (Program Manager) Nicole De Brucker (Program Manager) Filip Motmans (Program Manager) ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable chemistry
WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY FACE? Bert Bouwman, Unit Manager Chemistry at VITO: Chemistry is everywhere. Chemicals are part of every aspect of our society, and contribute greatly to our quality of life. However, population growth, particularly in China, India and the emerging economies, has led to a sharp increase in global demand for chemicals. At the same time, the impact on the environment and on the reserves of natural resources has also increased. This pressure is unsustainable. Economic developments also present a challenge. The European and Flemish chemical industry has always been a thriving sector. But this position is becoming less obvious due to globalisation and the emergence of new economies. IN WHICH DIRECTION MUST THE CHEMICAL SECTOR EVOLVE IN ORDER TO SURVIVE? Due to the widely varying prices of raw materials, energy and labour, the European chemical sector must take a different approach in order to remain profitable. Companies must diversify into specialised chemicals and pharmaceutical products. To survive, the entire sector must reorient itself towards renewable raw materials, and commit itself fully to efficiency, reuse and recycling. We also foresee an electrification of the sector. Sustainable electricity produced from solar, wind and hydro power will take the place of oil and gas. But the chemical sector is also contributing significantly to the solution thanks to the central role that its products and services play in the value chains and the sustainable development of sectors such as energy, mobility and electronics. It can highlight this key role by optimising its processes and making them more sustainable. An innovative chemical sector is vital to the sustainable development of society as a whole. WHAT SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS DOES VITO OFFER? We take a two-track approach. The first track is creating new value chains based on renewable raw materials such as biomass and CO 2. The valorisation of biomass concerns raw materials such as lignin, algae and insects. Lignin is found in wood and grass, of which there is no shortage in Europe. By fractionating lignin and separating out functional components, we are able to create new and interesting chemicals in a cost effective and sustainable manner. These substances score higher than their oilbased predecessors and have special properties that add value. We can also valorise CO 2 : using biological and electrochemical processes, we strive to obtain basic chemicals such as organic acids and bioplastics. A second development track focuses on sustainable chemical processes that we achieve through process intensification: intensifying processes allows us to make them more profitable and more efficient. By integrating separation and conversion processes, we will evolve from batch processes to sustainable continuous processes. Our membrane technology plays a key role in this. Bulk chemistry, the pharmaceutical sector and a wide range of fine chemicals companies require this technology. We are also developing completely new synthesis routes for the industry. The production of high quality nanocrystals with a much lower environmental impact and reduced production costs is an example of this. Finally, we are examining a range of possibilities to reuse industrial waste streams or separate out valuable components. Think for example of wastewater, waste streams from the food industry, and even geothermallyheated water. Such processes are an integral part of the circular economy. 27
BIO-AROMATICS FROM LIGNIN WE AIM FOR INNOVATIVE END PRODUCTS Lignin is a promising natural resource for the production of bio-aromatics. With the help of membrane technology, VITO researchers have succeeded in isolating chemically-interesting components from lignin. Interest on the part of the industry is huge. Lignin is a component of the walls of plant cells, and the second most common raw material in nature. Waste streams from the pulp and paper industry and other sectors are also rich in lignin. The substance is a natural source of aromatics: necessary cyclic building blocks for, among other things, plastic materials, chemicals, coatings and paints. Today, almost all aromatic building blocks are extracted from fossil-based raw materials, which are becoming increasingly scarce. Lignin is a bio-based raw material and therefore much more sustainable: one of the reasons VITO is examining it closely. COMPLEX CHEMISTRY Project manager Marjorie Dubreuil: We wish to develop specific chemicals from lignin that not only have a smaller ecological footprint, but that also exhibit additional, innovative properties, perform better and cost less. However, a breakthrough has yet to occur in the use of lignin as a green component of chemical raw materials. The reason? The complex chemical structure of lignin presents scientists with major technological challenges: First of all, they must fragment the strong lignin structure in the right places in order to retain the functional building blocks. Next the desired components must be separated from the mixture of lignin derivatives. Finally, we must integrate the bio-aromatic molecules into various polymer systems and convert these into products with an added value. SHARED RESEARCH CENTER The biorefining of lignin into functional end products is a chain process that requires diverse expertise and therefore cooperation. At the end of 2013, VITO together with TNO (the Dutch organisation for applied scientific research) and the Green Chemistry Campus launched the Shared Research Center Biorizon. Biorizon studies innovative technologies in order to obtain sustainable and profitable functional aromatics from sugars and lignin. Since its inception, Biorizon can already boast of a number of business cases and several patents. The first results were achieved in 2014 with the successful fractionation of complex lignin derivatives and isolation of the chemical building block furfural. ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable chemistry
INDUSTRIAL INTEREST To accelerate the development of functional bio-aromatics, VITO has also been working with New Zealand-based Scion since 2015. This partnership is remarkably complementary: VITO supplies its knowledge of ceramic and polymer membranes and membrane-separation technology; Scion supplies its experience with lignin hydrolysis, the chemistry of biomaterials and the creation of new bioproducts. VITO makes its extensive experience in membrane separation technology available to the Center. Furthermore, VITO supports the entire value chain with a range of analytical facilities. Membrane separation allows us to fractionate, purify and concentrate the mixture of lignin derivatives, Marjorie Dubreuil explains. Membrane separation is an energy and cost efficient technology that is easily scalable to an industrial environment. A new trend is the development of functionalised ceramic membranes that can be used for affinity separations with high separation factors. Industry also appreciates the benefits of lignin as a sustainable raw material. VITO and its industrial partners are testing practical industrial applications in diverse collaborative research projects. The MAIA project (Manufacturing of Advanced & Innovative bio-aromatics) uses wood and flax fibres as raw materials. The lignin fraction is upgraded to functional aromatics as much as possible, and the cellulose pulp is further processed into functional sugars. Another project, Arboref, is examining the conversion of renewable raw materials such as wood and grasses into bio-aromatics. Within the European partnership SmartLi, VITO researchers are attempting to supply defined fractions of bio-aromatics at kilogram scale to industrial producers of, among others, wood-plastic composites, laminates, resins and polyurethane. 100 MEMBERS The second Biorizon event took place on 17 November 2015. During this annual event, the partners present the progress of their research and its applications. The issues that are identified during the event are followed up in workshops. More information will be available shortly on the Biorizon website (www.biorizon.eu). The third Biorizon event will take place on 1 December 2016. The Biorizon community has now reached the milestone of 100 members. To become a community member of Biorizon and contribute to the transition to organic bio-aromatics, register free at www.biorizon.eu/community. 29
CO 2 AS RAW MATERIAL FOR THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY the other links in the chain is essential. For example, we have recently set up a strategic partnership with Thomas More College on capturing CO 2. Our processes do not target the production of bulk chemicals. We always start with simple molecules in order to perfect the process. In the next phase we focus on higher quality components such as biopolymers, which generate greater added value. BIOTECHNOLOGICAL PROCESSES PIVOTAL IN CO 2 VALUE CHAIN Until recently, CO 2 was mainly considered as waste that results in global warming. Today, research is focusing not only on strategies to prevent CO 2 emissions, but also on the valorisation of CO 2 : processes that convert CO 2 into biochemicals with a commercial value. VITO is developing biological and bioelectrochemical processes for specific industrial applications. The idea behind Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) is simple: to capture CO 2 from point sources or from the air and convert this into chemical building blocks with added value. VITO is developing biotechnological processes that use enzymes or bacteria and obtain the required energy from renewable sources. Two processes are central to this research: bioelectrochemical systems that directly use electric current, and bioprocesses such as gas fermentation that first extract hydrogen from renewable energy, which is then used in the bioconversion process. CENTRAL TO THE VALUE CHAIN The CO 2 value chain includes companies that emit CO 2, the technologies that convert this raw material into a product (pre-processing, conversion, purification, product formation) and end users. Project manager Heleen De Wever: Our research concerns the middle of the value chain: the conversion of CO 2 into chemicals. But the connection with 3D PRINTING AND AQUACULTURE The VITO research into the conversion of CO 2 examines various technologies. In the case of gas fermentation, CO 2 and hydrogen gas from renewable sources are converted by means of bacteria or enzymes into monomers and polymers, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Heleen De Wever: In the CO 2 MPASS project, which is receiving support from the Environmental and Energy Technology Innovation Platform, our aim for the coming years is to finetune the properties of the polymers produced and to test applications in areas such as 3D printing and aquaculture. Another technology (bio-) electrochemistry makes use of electrodes that directly use the electrical energy in the process. In the presence of the electric current, bacteria convert CO 2 into useful chemical products such as acetate and ethanol. Heleen De Wever: VITO has two patented gas diffusion electrodes on the market: VITO CoRE and VITO CaSE. Several companies, including some outside Flanders, are using these technologies to convert CO 2. The electrodes are customisable: depending on the intended reaction, you can adjust the electrode by changing the composition of the top layer. We test specific reactions on behalf of companies and customise our electrodes as required. ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable chemistry
VITO INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED IN RESEARCH INTO CO2 VALORISATION The business case around the patented electrodes finished in the top 10 of the second edition of ClimateLaunchpad in 2015. With 28 participating countries, it is the largest cleantech competition in Europe. The project will be guided into a valorisation process within the framework of the prestigious European business accelerator programme of the Climate-KIC. The fact that both industry and the scientific community value the expertise of VITO in this area was confirmed by the prize won by VITO at the Faraday Discussions on Carbon Dioxide an event held in Sheffield (UK) that brought together excellence in the use of CO 2 and a keynote lecture at the ICCDU conference (International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Utilisation) in Singapore. VITO is also part of the prestigious Center of Excellence for CO 2 Conversion, founded by the Indian petrochemicals company Indian Oil. Ten renowned international institutions have joined forces here to build a large-scale pilot plant over a five-year period. 31
SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES EXTRACTING VALUABLE COMPONENTS FROM SOLVENTS AND WASTE STREAMS To be strong in the future, industry needs to improve its production processes, recover waste streams, and switch to renewable raw materials. VITO is developing innovative processes that make higher efficiency possible and create new value chains in sectors such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food & beverages and industrial biotech. New technologies are helping the chemical industry counter the shortage of raw materials, reduce costs and maintain a strong market position. VITO is active in green chemistry in three research areas: intensifying processes, creating new synthesis routes, and reusing waste streams. FUNCTIONAL MEMBRANES Separation is a key process in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Nanofiltration with the aid of membranes has been used since the nineties to isolate small functional molecules from organic solvents. Over the years, VITO has perfected the ceramic membranes used in these processes. The commercialisation of the patented membrane Funmem is the result. Project manager Anita Buekenhoudt: Ceramic membranes are highly resistant to acid or alkaline environments and the organic solvents in which many chemical processes take place. By attaching functional chemical groups to membranes, you can change their properties depending on the process you want to take place. We supply these functional membranes Funmem to commercial-scale companies. We also have a mobile pilot plant that is set up at industrial customers to demonstrate the use of membranes at an industrial scale. Our pilot plant is presently with a Swiss company. Due to the high level of interest on the part of companies, a second pilot plant will soon be put into use. BIOMASS The use of biomass as an alternative to fossil-based raw materials is another trend in green chemistry. Heleen De Wever: In the BioConSepT project, which was completed in December 2015, we examined the production of valuable chemical building blocks from biomass that is not in competition with the food chain. We studied among other things new bioreactor configurations and the link with selective separation techniques to improve the processes. In addition to the use of robust enzymes and microorganisms, these were important factors in reducing the production cost. In ButaNEXT, a project that has been running since May 2015, the aim is to make biobutanol from lignocellulose streams in a cost-effective way. VITO s focus in this research is on higher yield and greater efficiency of the reactions, and lower energy and water consumption. ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable chemistry
VALORISING WASTE STREAMS The valorisation of waste streams is also an important principle of green chemistry. VITO is developing among other things solutions to extract valuable components from industrial waste streams. In the Resfood project, VITO is studying the extraction of polyphenols from apple pulp. VITO s membrane technology was used to concentrate the polyphenols from an ethanol-water mixture. The Noshan project explored the possibility of using waste streams from the food industry for animal feed and upgrading active components from these waste streams into feed additives. In the coming years, VITO will be studying how valuable metals can be recovered from the salts in water that comes from deep in the earth (geothermal). This process has already been tested in the Get-a-met project, which aims to recover rare earth metals from waste streams. 33