Total Petrochemicals and Galactic to build new bioplastics plant in Belgium
France's Total Petrochemicals and Belgium's Galactic have announced the signature of an agreement for the creation of a joint venture to develop a production technology for polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics made from renewable biomass.
The project entails the construction of a pilot plant capable of producing 1,500 tonnes per year of PLA using a clean, innovative and competitive technology, to be developed by both partners. Based on the Galactic Escanaffles site, near Tournai (in Belgium's 'Agrifood Valley'), the plant is scheduled to come on stream in 2009.
The research and development phase, which will start at the same time as its construction, should last 4 to 5 years. Called Futerro, the new company will benefit from the support of the Total Petrochemicals Research Centre in Feluy. The ambitious research project is made possible by the financial support of the Walloon Region within the framework of the competitive hubs of the Walloon Marshall Plan.
Lactic acid is obtained from the fermentation of carbohydrates: either sugar (beet or cane) or starch (corn, wheat, potato or cassava). PLA is an aliphatic polyester obtained by polymerising this lactic acid (schematic, click to enlarge). The polymer is fully compostable, reduces carbon dioxide emissions compared to petroleum based plastics, and has found ready applications in the food packaging and textiles industry:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: sugar :: starch :: bioplastic :: polylactic acid :: Belgium ::
Total Petrochemicals’ objective with this PLA development project is to fulfil a growing demand for biodegradable and renewable plastics.
For Galactic, this new development will mean new outlets for lactic acid by turning it into feedstock for a new green chemistry.
Galactic is a Belgian company created in 1994 part of the Finasucre group - one of the top ten sugar producers - owning sugar refineries in Australia (Bundaberg Sugar), Belgium (Frasnes & Moerbeek) and Africa (Compagnie Sucrière). The Finasucre group represents an annual sugar production of 1.3 million tons.
Established with an initial production capacity of 1,500 tons of lactic acid and lactates, Galactic rapidly expanded its production to more than 18,000 tons today.
References:
Total Petrochemicals: Total Petrochemicals and Galactic venture into bioplastics production [*.pdf] - September 25, 2007.
Article continues
The project entails the construction of a pilot plant capable of producing 1,500 tonnes per year of PLA using a clean, innovative and competitive technology, to be developed by both partners. Based on the Galactic Escanaffles site, near Tournai (in Belgium's 'Agrifood Valley'), the plant is scheduled to come on stream in 2009.
The research and development phase, which will start at the same time as its construction, should last 4 to 5 years. Called Futerro, the new company will benefit from the support of the Total Petrochemicals Research Centre in Feluy. The ambitious research project is made possible by the financial support of the Walloon Region within the framework of the competitive hubs of the Walloon Marshall Plan.
Lactic acid is obtained from the fermentation of carbohydrates: either sugar (beet or cane) or starch (corn, wheat, potato or cassava). PLA is an aliphatic polyester obtained by polymerising this lactic acid (schematic, click to enlarge). The polymer is fully compostable, reduces carbon dioxide emissions compared to petroleum based plastics, and has found ready applications in the food packaging and textiles industry:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: sugar :: starch :: bioplastic :: polylactic acid :: Belgium ::
Total Petrochemicals’ objective with this PLA development project is to fulfil a growing demand for biodegradable and renewable plastics.
For Galactic, this new development will mean new outlets for lactic acid by turning it into feedstock for a new green chemistry.
Galactic is a Belgian company created in 1994 part of the Finasucre group - one of the top ten sugar producers - owning sugar refineries in Australia (Bundaberg Sugar), Belgium (Frasnes & Moerbeek) and Africa (Compagnie Sucrière). The Finasucre group represents an annual sugar production of 1.3 million tons.
Established with an initial production capacity of 1,500 tons of lactic acid and lactates, Galactic rapidly expanded its production to more than 18,000 tons today.
References:
Total Petrochemicals: Total Petrochemicals and Galactic venture into bioplastics production [*.pdf] - September 25, 2007.
Article continues
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
European project looks at nanotechnology to develop CO2 capturing membranes
Europe produces one gigaton of carbon dioxide annually and wafts it into the atmosphere. Around one-third of this stems from fossil-fuelled power plants. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) could reduce those emissions by up to 90%. The idea is to store the carbon thus captured underground in, for example, empty gas fields and aquifers.
Biopact follows developments in CCS technology because it allows for the creation of radically carbon-negative bioenergy and biofuels (more here, here and here, and references in these texts).
Existing carbon capture methods include absorption and non-selective cooling. During the absorption process, flue gasses - mainly consisting of nitrogen, water, dust particles and, of course, CO2 - flow through several baths in which the carbon dioxide is bound with amines. However, this 'scrubbing' technology is far from being energy- or cost-effective, as it can consume up to 25% of the energy actually produced, and large installations as well as chemicals are needed, says the NanoGLOWA team.
CO2 separation through membranes, on the other hand, would consume only up to 8% of the energy produced, and bring down installation costs. However, suitable membranes must first be developed (interesting flash presentation of current production methods).
The NanoGLOWA project is comprehensive in scope. It will develop, produce, and integrate nano-engineered membranes in power plants and test their carbon capturing effectiveness (project overview, schematic, click to enlarge).
Currently, the following five types of nanomembranes are simultaneously being designed in the framework of the project:
energy :: sustainability :: climate change :: carbon dioxide :: carbon capture and storage :: biofuels :: biomass :: bioenergy with carbon storage :: membranes :: nanotechnology ::
- polymer membranes: diffusion transport membranes, block copolymers; fixed-site carrier-type membranes, cellulose acetate or polyamides; ionomeric high voltage membranes, electrically modified materials;
- carbon membranes: carbon molecular sieve membranes;
- ceramic membranes
While polymeric membranes are cheap, they seem to dilate when brought into contact with CO2 at higher pressure, so that selectivity and hence efficacy may be significantly reduced. Carbon membranes, on the other hand, are well developed and have good selectivity, says the NanoGLOWA team, but they may be contaminated by the power station's flue gasses.Finally, ceramic membranes are very stable and have great longevity as they respond well to extreme conditions such as high temperatures. After development in academic laboratories, the membranes will be tested in pilot power plants in the fifth and final year of the project (2011).
Membrane processes are characterized by the fact that a feed stream is divided into two streams, which are called the retentate stream and the permeate stream. Either of these streams can be the ‘product’ of the process. The membrane itself is the central part of every process and can be seen as a filter between two phases. The actual separation is achieved because transport of one component through the membrane is faster than the other component(s).
The NanoGLOWA project unites 26 organisations, including six universities and five power plant operators, as well as industry and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 14 European countries. The project receives €7 million in funding from the European Commission under the Sixth Framework Programme. Total costs amount to €12.5 million.
References:
Cordis: Nanotechnology could help bring down costs of CO2 capture - September 25, 2007.
NanoGLOWA: How membranes are made - flash animation.
Biopact: New plastic-based, nano-engineered CO2 capturing membrane developed - September 19, 2007
Article continues
posted by Biopact team at 7:43 PM 0 comments links to this post