Petrobras and BIOeCON Announce Joint Technology Development for the Enhanced Conversion of Biomass to Next Generation Biofuels and Chemicals

(BIOeCON) Petrobras and BIOeCON announced their partnership in the joint development of a novel process for enhanced conversion of biomass, as found in agricultural wastes such as sugarcane bagasse, into chemicals that can be used to produce green plastics, or further transformed in next generation advanced biofuels.

The new technology, called BiCHEM (Biomass Chemical Conversion), was developed by BIOeCON together with a team of top class scientists from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the Universidad Politecnica of Valencia in Spain. It represents a significant opportunity of having a lower cost, high conversion, selective, completely chemical process.

Petrobras and BIOeCON will work together to further develop this technology and establish proof of concept on pilot and demonstration scales. The first part of this work, including the pilot phase, will be performed in The Netherlands, while the demonstration plant is envisioned to be constructed in Brazil. A joint venture will be established to license the technology once it matures.

According to Carlos Tadeu da Costa Fraga, executive manager of Petrobras Research Center (Cenpes), the participation in technology based companies, such as BIOeCON, is part of the company’s strategy for innovation that involves a strong internal infrastructure for R&D and several technology partners in Brazil and abroad, including universities and research centers, suppliers and even other energy companies. Recently, this strategy has lead Petrobras to be the number one of Petroleum Industry in the attribute “Innovativeness”, in Fortune’s ranking of World’s Most Admired Companies. “We seek innovation where ever it is, for solutions that fit our business. In this case, we foresee the use of the chemicals obtained through BICHEM process to produce advanced biofuels such as diesel components of high cetane, higher than ethanol energy density and zero smoke emission. Such technology has the potential to be to diesel what ethanol is nowadays to gasoline.”

Rogerio Mattos, executive manager Petrobras New Business Development points out that “this technological-business association with top scientists and renowned foreign technical institutions aiming to accelerate the R&D for the commercial production of renewable fuels is a landmark for Petrobras as it opens new frontiers for the biggest investor in R&D in Brazil”.

As stated by João Norberto Noschang Neto, Technology Manager of Petrobras Biofuel “this is an important partnership to accelerate the research and development of second generation fuels, which will have a positive impact in increasing the productivity with better usage of agricultural wastes.”

The BICHEM Technology - "One of the key technical problems in the conversion of cellulosic biomass is how to open up the inaccessible solid fibrous 'woody' material, so that it can be effectively transformed. Most of the existing processes to unlock those structures are quite costly and intensive of energy or chemicals," says Paul O'Connor, founder and president of BIOeCON.

BICHEM technology uses a recyclable inexpensive solvent to dissolve a significant part of biomass. In such homogeneous phase, cellulose and hemicellulose are quickly converted to its simplest, sugar constituents. Those sugars are further hydrogenated and then finally converted to the chemicals of interest, which can be easily separated from the recyclable solvent. The approach allows to use the biomass to its fullest by converting all the carbon available in cellulose and hemicellulose to products and using much less energy.

Jacob Moulijn, Emeritus Professor of TU-Delft and Director of Science and Technology of the joint development effort, teaches that “the combination of biomass dissolution and the use of a hydrogenation step in the process allows to attain maximum conversion, high selectivity without undesired side-products.” READ MORE