The next generation sustainable Biondoil bio-ethanol refinery

Biondoil develops Bio-Refinery concepts on industrial scale exploring green-field and brown field opportunities. The cornerstone of our projects is the conversion of lignocellulose biomass into bio-ethanol. Currently the business driver in Europe is the RED2 renewable energy directive encouraging oil companies to mix biogenetic material in their fuels.

There are two proven technologies to produce bio-ethanol on a substantial scale, basically using different pre-treatment systems:

Pre-treatment based on steam explosion:
- Pre-treatment consist on the smart cooking of biomass using only water and steam (no chemicals are added), operating with optimized conditions and temperature, pressure and residence time.
- This stage creates large volume of water residue which is cleaned and recycled.

Pre-treatment based on fractioning with biosolvents:
- Fractioning is a separation process in which enzymes is divided during a phase transition, into a number of smaller quantities in which the composition varies according to a gradient.
- Due to rapid impregnation of the biosolvent into the raw material, cooking takes place quickly and at low temperature. As the delignification is highly selective, the yield and quality of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are optimal.

With both technologies’ enzymes are used to remove or modify hemicelluloses and lignin protecting the cellulose in the plant cell wall. Besides extracting a pure cellulosic portion this will enable further valorisation of underutilized biomass fraction to provide high value bio-alternatives of oil-derived chemical building blocks.

bio-ethanol refinery process: steam fraction, main output bio-ethanol

Biondoil develops Bio-Refinery concepts on industrial scale exploring green-field and brown field opportunities. The cornerstone of our projects is the conversion of lignocellulose biomass into bio-ethanol. Currently the business driver in Europe is the RED2 renewable energy directive encouraging oil companies to mix biogenetic material in their fuels.

There are two proven technologies to produce bio-ethanol on a substantial scale, basically using different pre-treatment systems:

Pre-treatment based on steam explosion:
- Pre-treatment consist on the smart cooking of biomass using only water and steam (no chemicals are added), operating with optimized conditions and temperature, pressure and residence time.
- This stage creates large volume of water residue which is cleaned and recycled.

Pre-treatment based on fractioning with biosolvents:
- Fractioning is a separation process in which enzymes is divided during a phase transition, into a number of smaller quantities in which the composition varies according to a gradient.
- Due to rapid impregnation of the biosolvent into the raw material, cooking takes place quickly and at low temperature. As the delignification is highly selective, the yield and quality of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are optimal.

With both technologies’ enzymes are used to remove or modify hemicelluloses and lignin protecting the cellulose in the plant cell wall. Besides extracting a pure cellulosic portion this will enable further valorisation of underutilized biomass fraction to provide high value bio-alternatives of oil-derived chemical building blocks.

bio-ethanol refinery process: steam fraction, main output isobutanol

Biondoil develops Bio-Refinery concepts on industrial scale exploring green-field and brown field opportunities. The cornerstone of our projects is the conversion of lignocellulose biomass into bio-ethanol. Currently the business driver in Europe is the RED2 renewable energy directive encouraging oil companies to mix biogenetic material in their fuels.

There are two proven technologies to produce bio-ethanol on a substantial scale, basically using different pre-treatment systems:

Pre-treatment based on steam explosion:
- Pre-treatment consist on the smart cooking of biomass using only water and steam (no chemicals are added), operating with optimized conditions and temperature, pressure and residence time.
- This stage creates large volume of water residue which is cleaned and recycled.

Pre-treatment based on fractioning with biosolvents:
- Fractioning is a separation process in which enzymes is divided during a phase transition, into a number of smaller quantities in which the composition varies according to a gradient.
- Due to rapid impregnation of the biosolvent into the raw material, cooking takes place quickly and at low temperature. As the delignification is highly selective, the yield and quality of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are optimal.

With both technologies’ enzymes are used to remove or modify hemicelluloses and lignin protecting the cellulose in the plant cell wall. Besides extracting a pure cellulosic portion this will enable further valorisation of underutilized biomass fraction to provide high value bio-alternatives of oil-derived chemical building blocks.

bio-ethanol refinery process: biosolvent technology, main output bio-ethanol

Biondoil develops Bio-Refinery concepts on industrial scale exploring green-field and brown field opportunities. The cornerstone of our projects is the conversion of lignocellulose biomass into bio-ethanol. Currently the business driver in Europe is the RED2 renewable energy directive encouraging oil companies to mix biogenetic material in their fuels.

There are two proven technologies to produce bio-ethanol on a substantial scale, basically using different pre-treatment systems:

Pre-treatment based on steam explosion:
- Pre-treatment consist on the smart cooking of biomass using only water and steam (no chemicals are added), operating with optimized conditions and temperature, pressure and residence time.
- This stage creates large volume of water residue which is cleaned and recycled.

Pre-treatment based on fractioning with biosolvents:
- Fractioning is a separation process in which enzymes is divided during a phase transition, into a number of smaller quantities in which the composition varies according to a gradient.
- Due to rapid impregnation of the biosolvent into the raw material, cooking takes place quickly and at low temperature. As the delignification is highly selective, the yield and quality of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are optimal.

With both technologies’ enzymes are used to remove or modify hemicelluloses and lignin protecting the cellulose in the plant cell wall. Besides extracting a pure cellulosic portion this will enable further valorisation of underutilized biomass fraction to provide high value bio-alternatives of oil-derived chemical building blocks.

The market of bio-ethanol in a nutshell

The market for sustainable fuels is largely created out of the necessity to diversify the primary feedstock for fuel production, moving away from fossil based to more sustainable resources. With the Paris Climate Agreement in mind and all the legislative actions on (inter-)national scale that were derived from this, governments now push for more sustainable energy production in the broadest sense of the word.
Biondoil targets the production of approximately 80,000 tpa of second generation bio-ethanol, a blending component for fuel production. Three main by-products that the refinery will produce are lignin, CO2 and, out of the waste water treatment, a bio-gas, to be upgraded to LNG.
The market for second generation fuels is a global market. Biondoil will focus on the European Union as its primary market. The European Union back in June 2018 agreed on a final text for a new energy directive. The Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) in which it sets forth targets for the overall energy consumption from renewable energy sources to 32% by 2030.
Fuel suppliers will have to supply a minimum of 14% of the energy consumed by road and rail transport as renewable energy. As a sub-target of this goal there is a dedicated target for advanced biofuels produced from alternative feedstocks (second or next generation biofules). These feedstocks need to be sustainable with certified production cycles and most importantly, not alternatively be used as a food source.

Biomass what and how; feedstock for bio-ethanol refinery

Biomass as a replacement for the use of fossil fuels is a trending topic in the climate change discussion. Myths and facts ranging from "each harvested tree is a stepping stone in the destruction of the earth" to biomass is "the solution" in our struggle to get control in managing the climate heating process. Interested in a weighed perspective about biomass: read our more detailed insight in biomass explained.




For more information about our other business models (next to our first business model: Bio-ethanol refinery):