Mar 12 2010
A next-generation biorefinery project, EuroBioRef, was launched on 1st March 2010 by the EU. Financed under the 7th Framework Programme of the EU, the EuroBioRef project aims to cover the entire biomass conversion chain ranging from raw materials to final commercial products. The participants in the four-year €23 million project include 28 partners from 14 different countries.
For a sustained bioeconomy in Europe, expertise in developing and adopting biorefining process is vital. The EuroBioRef project covers the entire chain for biomass conversion from raw materials to the manufacture of commercial fine chemicals. A new concept that will be developed by the project includes complex raw materials, processes and final products. One major objective of the program is to integrate the current biomass industry.
Department of Process Chemistry from SINTEF Materials and Chemistry is carrying out one of the work packages, in which new catalysts will be developed by the scientists for converting sugars into chemicals.
SINTEF’s coordinator for the project, Morten Frøseth, commented that the gas and oil resources are decreasing and scientists have to develop methods to produce chemicals by using biomass as raw materials. Frøseth further said that the main objective is to produce chemicals by converting sugars for use in industrial processes.
The main aim of the EuroBioRef is to achieve a 30% cost efficiency through improved reaction and separation processes, less capital investment and efficient factory. A reduction of 30% in energy consumption and waste-free production is also expected to be achieved by the project.
Source: http://www.sintef.com