Waste valorization Spanish company is searching for a partner (to apply for a Horizon Europe call) as the end user of advanced biofuels and aromatic compounds produced in biomass industrial processes, in order to cover the entire value chain.

Short summary Waste valorization Spanish company is searching for a partner (to apply for a Horizon Europe call) as the end user of advanced biofuels produced in biomass industrial processes, in order to cover the entire value chain. The partner will be preferably an industry, and will be involved in the characterization and validation of the fuel produced from a biomass pyrolysis process. A potential partner could also be a research institution or industry.

Full description • The project: The proposal aims to process different biomass feedstocks (i.e. agricultural, forestry, municipal, plastics and other industrial wastes) via an integrated, innovative and cost effective sustainable route for co-production of advanced biofuels (mainly for aviation sector) and aromatic compounds (i.e. BTEXs and other alkylaromatics) by covering the entire value chain (from feedstocks to end use). The biomass resources processed alone or in combined manner by thermal pyrolysis (in a rotatory-type reactor, in the Spanish company facilities) will mainly produce liquids together with permanent gases and some amounts of tars/chars. Depending on the feedstocks and the operational conditions used, the products could be tuned to maximize liquid production (even with high aromatics contents). Liquids could be fractionated in a light fraction (C6-C8), and intermediate fraction (C9-C20), and a heavy fraction (>C20). The intermediate fraction (main product of the process) will be upgraded via catalytic hydrotreating (with metal supported catalyst) to produce advanced bio-jet-fuel. The light fraction mainly containing paraffins and olefins in the C6-C8 range will be transformed into aromatics (BTEXs) via catalytic aromatization (or reforming) by using metal-zeolites as catalysts. The heavy fraction containing high amounts of di-and tri-aromatics (i.e. alkytrans-type molecules) will be treated via catalytic mild hydrocracking (with metal-supported catalysts) to obtain mono-alkylaromatics in the C9-C16 range useful for fuels blending or for petrochemical applications. Also, from heavy fraction with catalytic hydrotreatment (in moderate conditions and with catalysts designed for that) different products could be obtained: BTEXs; Naphthalenes; Mixture of C9-C15 hydrocarbons and aromatics that could be used for blending with the bio-jet-fuel produced from the intermediate fraction. • The programme: HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-01-06: Demonstration of advanced biofuel technologies for aviation and/or shipping. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Expand the technology portfolio for ready to pre-commercial plant investments in advanced biofuel technologies for aviation and /or shipping. Support de-risking the technology, boost scale-up of advanced biofuels for aviation and /or shipping and contribute to their market up-take. Respond to short- and medium-term needs for renewable fuels in aviation and /or shipping. Support better integration of advanced biofuel technologies in aviation and /or shipping. Estimated budget: 9.000.000,00 € (or less). Consortium: ≈8-10 partners (Ideally, 7-8 partners). Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project. • The partnership: Nowadays, the consortium is integrated by the following partners with the corresponding roles (in search for other partners to complete it): - Spanish Company (SME): pre-processing and pyrolysis of blended wastes, - Research technical institute: development of catalysts and catalytic processes for aromatization, hydrotreating and hydrocracking, - Spanish Large Industry: user of some fraction of pyrolytic liquids, - Dutch company (SME): BTX producer and technology developer. • Timescales: The call is not open yet; it is estimated that it will come out in January and the deadline to present the proposal it will estimated in March-April 2023. Deadline EoI: February 2023.

Advantages and innovations The Spanish Company has dedicated almost all of its efforts, during more than 10 years, to carry out research, development and innovation tasks that have led to a technology that is currently at the forefront of the waste disposal and material recovery sector. This technology, in which this company has invested around €10M, is an innovative thermo-conversion technology through gasification by stages in three reactors for the material valorization of organic waste and biomass (MSW, MSW, sludge and biomass). This way proving that it is possible to valorize more than 90% of such waste, obtaining, from them, a synthesis gas, totally clean and transformable into electrical and thermal energy, and into various products of high added value. It also has one patent granted and three more in preparation. The main competitive advantages of the company's plants over the competition in the thermal treatment of waste are the following: • Proprietary technology based on a rotary reactor that provides great versatility and resistance to impurities and heterogeneity of the waste. • Proprietary gas filtering technology that extends the life of the syngas combustion engines. • In waste disposal: -Virtually, all of the incoming waste will be removed. -The resulting ashes, of minimal volume, are inert. -Easy to recycle or treat. Possibility of recovering heavy metals. -It helps to reduce the emission of environmentally harmful gases. -Reduces the emission of greenhouse gases: 40% of CO2 emissions and 100% of CH4; avoids the emission of SO2, SO3 and NOx. -Furan and dioxins (carcinogenic agents) are not generated. -No bad odors are produced. The market opportunity for this company is based on a business model capable of providing a solution to the problems of waste disposal, being a cutting-edge, environmentally friendly and profitable solution for companies or public entities that must manage a large amount of waste and want to be aligned with the circular economy.

Technical Specification or Expertise Sought There is not a restriction of the type of the partner sought, an industry is preferable because the need to complete the consortium is to cover the entire value chain. Specifically, the partner sought should have the know-how to be the end user of the jet-fuel produced. However, a potential partner could also be a research institution or industry. The partner will be involved in the characterization and validation of the fuel and aromatics compounds (BTEXs) produced during the process. The tasks to be performed by the partner will be: • The specifications needed for the jet fuel, its regulatory framework and the use of the products. Small scale tests with the jet fuel produced. • Contamination restrictions: Cleaning of pyrolytic oil obtained (removal of possible siloxanes) directly from the liquid or in gas phase at high temperature (pyrogas). • In addition, the gases produced during the pyrolysis could be converted into hydrogen or methane, and both could be integrated in the overall process as hydrotreating agent for liquids processing and as fuel for combustion engines in the complete value chain. Thus, a potential partner would also be a R&D institution/industry who are able to adapt its hydrogen/methane technology to the whole process (or from the hydrogen/methane obtain in the process). They can contribute to maximize this fraction (water gas shift, membrane separation, purification, upgrading), so that these gases could be used in the process for self-consumption. • CO2 capture could be also included to close the loop and to reduce CO2 emissions.

Contact / source: NEXT EEN Widgets (europa.eu)