Biorefinery for Stora Enso Kemijarvi Mill?

Emeritus professor Johan Gullichsen has proposed a biorefinery for the Stora Enso Kemijarvi Mill in Northern Finland. That's in line with what we think could be a wise move. Vapo is also looking into peat as source for biodiesel production.

I got this information from Helsingin Sanomat Dec 12, 2007. John Gullichsen's proposal is an official statement from a professor in Pulp and Paper technology. The Stora Enso board of directors decided a month ago that the Kemijarvi Pulp Mill will be closed next year, 2008.

Key words: hemicellulose, biorefinery, wood, forest, re-engineering.

Global Warming and shortage of fossile chemical feedstock

1st International Biorefinery Workshop U.S. DOE and EU, July, 20 and 21, 2005, Washington DC | Yeast-based bio-refineries | Bärbel Hahn-Hägerdal | Applied Microbiology, LTH/Lund University | P O Box 124, SE-221 00 LUND, Sweden | mbarbel.hahn-hagerdal at tmb.lth.se

Helge: Lund Technical Highschool, Lund, Sweden.

The prospects of global warming and the potential future shortage of fossil chemical feedstocks have turned the interest towards utilization of renewable raw materials derived from agriculture and forest products. Such raw materials – lignocellulosics – are composed of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose.

Helge: Yes, We are looking into the same agricultural and forest products and feedstocks.

In a bio-refinery concept the raw material may be pre-treated at elevated temperatures with small amounts of dilute acid or SO2 to make cellulose and hemicellulose accessible to subsequent acid or enzymatic hydrolysis.

Helge: Yes.

During pre-treatment and acid hydrolysis fermentation inhibitors – phenol and furan derivatives and low molecular weight fatty acids - are released. Cellulose and hemicellulose are hydrolyzed to fermentable monomer sugars (glucose, mannose, galactose, xylose and arabinose), while lignin is recovered as a solid fuel.

Helge: Hydrolyzed to fermentable monomer sugars...

Hydrolyzed lignocellulosic raw materials thus comprise a mixed-sugar substrate in an inhibiting matrix. In this bio-refinery concept these substrates are converted to value-added products, such as alcohols, aldehydes, acids and esters.

Helge: Resulting in value-added products.

Because of its high inhibitor tolerance, its wide biological activity and its proven record as industrial fermentation microorganism, Baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the prime choice of microorganism for a bio-refinery.

Helge: The micro-organism for a biorefinery.

The advent of modern DNA-technology including metabolic engineering, inverse metabolic engineering and evolutionary engineering as well as the concept of systems biology permits the development of yeasts with novel and artificial activities to be exploited in the pharmaceutical, food, feed and chemical industry.

Helge: We need to talk more about this.

International Biorefinery Workshop

1st International Biorefinery Workshop | Washington Marriott Hotel | July 20-21, 2005

Helge: This is history already but gives an insight into what happens in US. The biorefinery workshoping is about to start in our country. US has been active for quite some time.

The biorefinery has the potential to revolutionize rural economies and broaden the use of biobased energy and products in world markets.

Helge: This is also a joint effort by US and EU.

Join the United States Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the European Commission Directorate General for Research, and leading researchers, developers, and policy makers for the 1st International Biorefinery Workshop.

This first-of-a-kind workshop will:

• Provide a forum for a technical review of state-of-the-art research leading to the development of biorefinery technologies.
  
  
• Evaluate biorefinery markets and opportunities.
  
  
• Foster domestic and international partnerships for the development and deployment of biorefineries.
  
  
• Disseminate information on successful research and demonstration occurring in the U.S. and internationally.

Invitees will include:

• United States Department of Energy
• European Commission Directorate General for Research
• United States Department of Agriculture
• Researchers from academia and laboratories
• State and local government

Major industrial companies including:

1. Abengoa Bioenergy Corporation
2. Archer Daniels Midland Company
3. Bioengineering Resources Inc.
4. Broin & Associates
5. Cargill Corporation
6. NatureWorks LLC
7. Caterpillar
8. Dow Chemical Company
9. DuPont
10. Gas Technology Institute
11. Genencor International
12. Georgia-Pacific Corporation
13. Institute of Paper Science and Technology
14. John Deere
15. Metabolix
16. National Corn Growers Association
17. Natural Resource Defense Council
18. Novozymes
19. Orion Genomics, LLC
20. Research Triangle Institute
21. Rohm and Haas
22. Salix Consortium
23. Southern Research Institute
24. Weyerhaeuser

This list includes the whole supply chain. Who participated? What about the Scandinavians? What did Saab have to say? Take a look at the presentations.

Bio-based economy

Renewable resources can provide a viable, economical alternative to petrochemical feedstock's. In consequence, it is absolutely necessary to develop solutions in three sustainable and biobased sectors:

• Biopower:
  Biomass consumption (electricity and heat) in electric utilities, industry and local as private use such as biogas, biomass burning.
  
  
• Biobased Transportation Fuels:
  Transportation fuels from biomass: e.g. ethanol, biodiesel and biopetroleum.
  
  
• Biobased Products and Biorefineries:
  Production of chemicals and materials from biobased raw material. So is the new business commercial if the entirely economical chances of a fundamentally new technology are considered.

Finland is doing well in the Biopower segment. We've several companies offering bioenergy power plants to produce heat and electricity.

UPM, StoraEnso, Neste Oil, St1, and some other players are into biobased transportation fuels. The forestry companies are looking into the opportunities of cellulosic biofuels.

Biobased products and biorefineries are still in search and research stage. We've a great potential looming in older pulp mills. The old machines could be transformed to biorefineries.

What is a biorefinery doing?

A biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce

1. fuels,
   
2. power, and
   
3. chemicals from biomass.
   

The biorefinery concept is analogous to today's petroleum refineries, which produce multiple fuels and products from petroleum.

Industrial biorefineries have been identified as the most promising route to the creation of a new domestic biobased industry.

By producing multiple products, a biorefinery can take advantage of the differences in biomass components and intermediates and maximize the value derived from the biomass feedstock.

1. Food
2. Wood
3. Waste
   

A biorefinery might, for example, produce one or several low-volume, but high-value, chemical products and a low-value, but high-volume liquid transportation fuel, while generating electricity and process heat for its own use and perhaps enough for sale of electricity.

The high-value products enhance profitability, the high-volume fuel helps meet national energy needs, and the power production reduces costs and avoids greenhouse-gas emissions.

We have been doing this in the pulp and paper industry. The goal is to get this to the next level.

• Biorefinery concept is built on two different "platforms" to promote different product slates. A "sugar platform" is based on biochemical conversion processes and focuses on the fermentation of sugars extracted from biomass feedstocks.
  
  
• A "syngas platform" is based on thermochemical conversion processes and focuses on the gasification of biomass feedstocks and by-products from conversion processes.

What can we do to help to asses and evaluate the socio-economical benefits of a project?

1. Integrated system analysis,
   
2. techno-economic analysis,
   
3. life cycle assessments, and
   
4. TMBC analysis tools are essential for research and development efforts.

Advanced TMBC Measurements

Advanced measurements methods and technologies are use both in bio-processes for purposes of producing chemicals and new materials, for quality control purposes in the food and wood industries and in the studies of the state of the environment.

In the future we can expect a wider use of inexpensive, easy-to-use and portable sampling and measurement devices applied to rely information wirelessly to a TMBC specialist or to the control center of an industrial production process.

In industry, the new measurement technology is needed for instance in processes of bioenergy and biofuel production.

Biotechnology can be used to diversify to diversify the industrial structure and in industrial products. The bio-refinery concept will be a significant part of the future bio-society.

Raw-materials and waste will be processed into as many different basic substances as possible, such as sugar, fibres for extracts, which then are refined further into biomaterials or chemicals, for instance.

Biorefineries will be integral to the future economy

From Retrospective to Prospective. Analysis based on performance data is of necessity backward looking. Yet, biorefineries will be integral to the future economy. For those reasons, it is also useful to indulge in well-grounded foresight.

Beyond established markets, environmentally friendly and energy-saving bioprocessing technologies and products from biorefineries may be targeted at potentially rapidly growing markets for the following:

• alternative fuels such as ethanol, hydrogen, butanol and other derivatives
• other chemical feedstocks
• enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide for lighter fuels, and surfactants and soaps for
• recovering heavier reserves
• fine chemicals often as valuable by-products from bulk commodity production.

Energy Efficiencies of Technologies

Processes used to produce chemicals may either be energy intensive or employ technologies and approaches to reduce energy dependence, including biotechnology and “green” chemistry.

North-American American, European, Global chemical producers have significant opportunities to reduce energy inputs into their processing technologies.


LESS ENERGY

In USA the differences between actual and theoretical energy requirements for selected mainline chemicals were nearly 80 million British thermal units per Imperial ton (Btu/ton) for organic chemicals and 30 million Btu/ton for inorganic materials.

Both of these usages were more than three times the theoretical minima required.


RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Industry leaders in leading forestry countries indicate that research and development on biorefineries and their design has progressed sufficiently enough to initiate projects.

The UNIQUE formulas for maximal energy efficiency, speed of throughput, and conversion of added value products can be continuously improved. The existing technologies are providing a starting point.

Individual Design of Biorefineries

By utilizing different processing technologies, components of biomass can be separated and isolated for the production of energy fuels, chemicals and materials, which is called biorefining.

The ultimate design of a particular biorefinery will depend upon the nature of the local feedstock:

1. forest (forest and pulp mill residues)
   
2. agricultural (controversial)
   
3. municipal (waste can be turned into valuable new products)
   
4. marine and combinations thereof (sludge...)
   
5. and the targeted outputs.

The Unique Success Formula is still needed

Desired product mixtures in all likelihood will be driven by the demands of other industries, such as the

1. chemicals,
   
2. energy,
   
3. building products,
4. packaging,
   
5. publishing and materials sectors,
   
6. to maximize value from sustainable operations as well as by
   
7. society’s quest to reduce environmental footprints.
   

The scale of these operations
will range from medium-sized
to very large

(equivalent in size to existing chemical plants and pulp and paper mills).

Adoption of biorefineries and related processes and product technologies depends on available

1. research, development and
   
2. prevailing regulations during design and construction.

Integrated, stand-alone forest biorefineries

We are studying how to move towards and advance the development of integrated, stand-alone forest biorefineries. Since the industry has many established mills, it is appropriate and prudent to explore biorefinery opportunities by integrating biorefinery technologies into existing operations.

Older mills can get a new value, a second life when a new business model is developed based on unique and innovative research and development.

As experience is gained with the range of technologies that would transform a forest products mill into a biorefinery, new integrated, stand-alone mill concepts can be developed for future mill retrofits and greenfield industrial investments.

We count with a potential of four to six units in Finland. Implementation could be even easier in Sweden where mills have a lot of own forests. UPM is a big a forest owner in Finland. The value of wood is not in the fibers anymore.

A forest biorefinery would use variable feedstocks including

1. harvesting residues,
   
2. extracts from effluents and
   
3. fractions of pulping liquors to produce fibre, energy, chemicals and new bio-materials

As mills demonstrate the potential of the new forest harvesting and processing technologies and prove to be commercially viable, new integrated, stand-alone facilities can be constructed to serve traditional markets for wood and paper products as well as new ones for energy, chemicals and materials.

There is a big logistical challenge for stand-alone and new greenfield units.

Strategic alliances with companies in the energy, chemicals and manufacturing sectors would be essential, as these companies have the infrastructure and market knowledge needed to successfully compete in their industry sectors.

The picture is quite clear: Stora Enso and Neste Oil are natural partners. UPM is partnering with Andritz that is an Engineering company. UPM is considering its pulp and paper companies in France and Scotland as pilot units. What could be done in Voikkaa?

A biorefinery is an integrated plant

A biorefinery is an integrated plant producing multiple value-added products from a range of renewable feedstocks.

We have an innovative approach that responds to changing markets for traditional forest products as well as new products such as

1. energy,
   
2. chemicals and
   
3. materials
   

Identifying the most effective pathways requires understanding these opportunities and barriers. Innovation Roadmap on

1. Bio-based feedstocks,
   
2. Fuels and
   
3. Industrial Products

100 Pulp Mills can be converted to Biorefineries

A market study showsthat there is a potential for full-scale operations in more than 100 pulp mills all over the world.”

(LignoBoost, press release, 12 February 2007)

What is forest biorefinery?

Definitions:

1. A biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, and value-added chemicals from biomass
   
   (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA / www.nrel.gov/biomass/biorefinery+ Wikipedia)
   
   

1. Efficient use of the entire potential of raw materials and by streams of the forest-based sector towards a broad range of high added value products (by co-operation in and between chains)
   
   (EU Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform / BiorefineryTaskforce, April 17, 2007)
   
   
   
2. Full utilization of the incoming wood biomass for production of fibres, chemicals and energy
   
   (STFI-Packforsk, Sweden)

POET to present at Cellulosic Ethanol Summit

POET to present at Cellulosic Ethanol Summit: "POET to present at Cellulosic Ethanol Summit Director of Corporate Affairs will discuss Project Liberty Press Release from Poet SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (October 8, 2007) Doug Berven, Director of Corporate Affairs for POET, will discuss progress POET has made toward the development of cellulosic ethanol technologies and provide an update on POET's cellulosic initiative, Project Liberty, at the Infocast Cellulosic Ethanol Summit.

About POET. POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is an established leader in the biorefining industry through project development, design and construction, research and development, plant management, and marketing. Formerly known as Broin, the 20-year old company currently operates 21 production facilities in the United States with six more in construction or under development. The company produces and markets more than 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol annually. For more information, go to http://www.poetenergy.com.

The summit will be held on
October 15 to 17, 2007 in Washington, D.C.
It will bring high-level governmental,
agricultural, financial and commercial players
together to stimulate the cross-industry
relationships that will be critical
for our nation to achieve
biofuel objectives.

Project Liberty, the transformation of a 50 MGPY grain-to-ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa into an integrated corn-to-ethanol and cellulose-to-ethanol biorefinery, is jointly funded by POET and the United States Department of Energy.

Once complete, the facility will produce 125 million gallons of ethanol per year, of which 25 million gallons will be from corn fiber and corn cobs.

By adding cellulosic production to an existing grain ethanol plant, POET will be able to produce 11 percent more ethanol from a bushel of corn, 27 percent more from an acre of corn, while almost completely eliminating fossil fuel consumption and and decreasing water usage."

Cellulosic Ethanol Summit in Washington 15-17 October

Helge: Found this information. The summit is organized in Washington, DC October 15-17,2007. I guess, we would have to do something like this in Finland as well.

Cellulosic Ethanol Summit: "The agricultural, biotech, biorefinery developer and financial communities gather for the leading industry building event Building Bridges in the Cellulosic Value Chain About the Summit The Cellulosic Ethanol Summit has quickly established itself as the major place where all the communities in the cellulosic ethanol value chain come together in one location to discuss how to build a new national cellulosic ethanol industry.

Helge: The value chain. We've to understand the whole.

Again, this year, leaders from the agricultural, industrial biotech, biorefinery developer and financial communities will gather to share their communities' perspectives on what is needed to form an efficient and effective value chain to commercialize cellulosic ethanol production. No single community will be able to create a viable cellulosic ethanol industry.

Only through intense
cooperative efforts
will this be possible

This means that all the communities in the value chain will need to obtain a detailed understanding of the capabilities, challenges and needs of the other communities in the value chain in order for the industry to move forward.

Helge: Building the community, creating the knowhow, establishing a culture...

The Summit provides an important opportunity to initiate profound conversations between the various communities in the value chain and it provides a powerful venue where these communities can fully understand how to build links within the value chain that are necessary to make the cellulosic ethanol industry a reality."

Helge: Initiate profound conversations...The importance of dialog.

The Summit provides a unique forum where each community discusses their activities in getting prepared to support a national cellulosic ethanol industry, outlines the key technical, organizational, economic and financial challenges it faces and then identifies the types of relationships with others that need to be established to truly support its role in the value chain.

Helge: The relationships of parties involved. The advantage of open global innovation attitude.

The Summit also provides a rich opportunity for offline discussions, where everyone will have the chance to meet other groups from the value chain and to establish ongoing relationships, thus serving as a springboard for more profound relationship building in the future.

About the Pre-Summit Briefing

Developing a Feedstock Logistics Infrastructure
to Support the Cellulosic Ethanol Industry: Status and Outlook

As a prelude to the Summit, this all day briefing will provide an excellent opportunity for attendees to obtain a report on the status of industry activities to develop a feedstock logistics infrastructure for collecting and shipping large volumes of biomass to biorefineries.

Helge: The role of innovative information broadcasting...

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