Membrane processes in biorefineries based on lignocellulosic biomass: Membrane opportunities in the production and water loop
Lipnizki, Frank LU
; Dupuy, Aurélie
LU
and Jönsson, Ann-Sofi
LU
(2014)
ICOM 2014 Conference
- Abstract
Biorefineries are the backbone of “white biotechnology”, the 3rd wave of biotechnology which aims to replace classic C2/C3 chemistry by biotechnological processes. In analogy to petrorefineries biorefineries aim at the integrated and simultaneous production of bulk products, as e.g. biofuels, or biopolymers, heat and power, using biomass. In order to avoid any competition with food production the focus in recent years is on lignocellulosic biomass such as wood and agricultural residues as raw material for biorefineries. One of the key success factors of biorefineries is the integration of high-selective low energy separation processes such as membrane processes either as stand-alone units or as process synergies, e.g. the combination... (More)
Biorefineries are the backbone of “white biotechnology”, the 3rd wave of biotechnology which aims to replace classic C2/C3 chemistry by biotechnological processes. In analogy to petrorefineries biorefineries aim at the integrated and simultaneous production of bulk products, as e.g. biofuels, or biopolymers, heat and power, using biomass. In order to avoid any competition with food production the focus in recent years is on lignocellulosic biomass such as wood and agricultural residues as raw material for biorefineries. One of the key success factors of biorefineries is the integration of high-selective low energy separation processes such as membrane processes either as stand-alone units or as process synergies, e.g. the combination of membrane processes with separators or evaporators. Key applications of membrane processes can be found in the production and water loop of biorefineries.
The first part of the presentation will focus on the production loop. In the initial step of the biorefinery the lignocellulosic biomass needs ideally to be separated into its three key components: hemicelluloses, lignin and cellulose. This can either be done by appropriate pre-treatment methods with e.g. heat or chemical treatment, or by utilizing suitable process/waste streams from pulp mills. In particular the pressure-based membrane processes microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis have been proven to be suitable for the concentration and purification of these key components. Hemicelluloses can be concentrated and purified by ultra- and nanofiltration for the production of barrier films and coatings. Lignin, either as ligninsulfonate from the sulfite pulping process, or lignin in black liquor of the kraft pulping process, can be concentrated and classified by ultrafiltration to be used e.g. as binding agent. The cellulosic part can be hydrolyzed to sugars. After hydrolysation the sugars can be purified by a decanter-ultrafiltration process and then - if required - concentrated by reverse osmosis before fermentation. In order to prevent product inhibition during the fermentation a micro- or ultrafiltration unit can be directly integrated into the fermentation of the biofuel/biochemical. In the subsequent step residual sugars can be separated from the biofuel/biochemical by nanofiltration or reverse osmosis. Furthermore, pervaporation and vapor permeation might be used in combination with distillation in the final concentration step.
The second part of the presentation will focus on the water loop. This section will cover the upgrading of in-take water by a cascade of ultrafiltration followed by reverse osmosis as well as the recycling of water in processes such as evaporator condensate polishing by reverse osmosis. Furthermore the opportunities of using a membrane bioreactor for end-of-pipe treatment in biorefineries will be discussed.
Overall, it will be demonstrated that membrane processes as highly selective and energy-saving separation processes have the potential to become key units of operation in the concept of biorefineries. The contents of the presentation will be supported by application and case studies.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/83c9cda0-5ad0-4127-bac9-220dea21015e
- author
- Lipnizki, Frank
LU
; Dupuy, Aurélie
LU
and Jönsson, Ann-Sofi
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2014
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Membrane separation, Biorefineries
- conference name
- ICOM 2014 Conference
- conference location
- Suzhou, China
- conference dates
- 2014-07-20 - 2014-07-25
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 83c9cda0-5ad0-4127-bac9-220dea21015e
- date added to LUP
- 2018-10-15 07:52:10
- date last changed
- 2023-04-18 17:40:57
@misc{83c9cda0-5ad0-4127-bac9-220dea21015e,
abstract = {{<br/>Biorefineries are the backbone of “white biotechnology”, the 3rd wave of biotechnology which aims to replace classic C2/C3 chemistry by biotechnological processes. In analogy to petrorefineries biorefineries aim at the integrated and simultaneous production of bulk products, as e.g. biofuels, or biopolymers, heat and power, using biomass. In order to avoid any competition with food production the focus in recent years is on lignocellulosic biomass such as wood and agricultural residues as raw material for biorefineries. One of the key success factors of biorefineries is the integration of high-selective low energy separation processes such as membrane processes either as stand-alone units or as process synergies, e.g. the combination of membrane processes with separators or evaporators. Key applications of membrane processes can be found in the production and water loop of biorefineries. <br/>The first part of the presentation will focus on the production loop. In the initial step of the biorefinery the lignocellulosic biomass needs ideally to be separated into its three key components: hemicelluloses, lignin and cellulose. This can either be done by appropriate pre-treatment methods with e.g. heat or chemical treatment, or by utilizing suitable process/waste streams from pulp mills. In particular the pressure-based membrane processes microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis have been proven to be suitable for the concentration and purification of these key components. Hemicelluloses can be concentrated and purified by ultra- and nanofiltration for the production of barrier films and coatings. Lignin, either as ligninsulfonate from the sulfite pulping process, or lignin in black liquor of the kraft pulping process, can be concentrated and classified by ultrafiltration to be used e.g. as binding agent. The cellulosic part can be hydrolyzed to sugars. After hydrolysation the sugars can be purified by a decanter-ultrafiltration process and then - if required - concentrated by reverse osmosis before fermentation. In order to prevent product inhibition during the fermentation a micro- or ultrafiltration unit can be directly integrated into the fermentation of the biofuel/biochemical. In the subsequent step residual sugars can be separated from the biofuel/biochemical by nanofiltration or reverse osmosis. Furthermore, pervaporation and vapor permeation might be used in combination with distillation in the final concentration step. <br/>The second part of the presentation will focus on the water loop. This section will cover the upgrading of in-take water by a cascade of ultrafiltration followed by reverse osmosis as well as the recycling of water in processes such as evaporator condensate polishing by reverse osmosis. Furthermore the opportunities of using a membrane bioreactor for end-of-pipe treatment in biorefineries will be discussed. <br/>Overall, it will be demonstrated that membrane processes as highly selective and energy-saving separation processes have the potential to become key units of operation in the concept of biorefineries. The contents of the presentation will be supported by application and case studies.<br/>}},
author = {{Lipnizki, Frank and Dupuy, Aurélie and Jönsson, Ann-Sofi}},
keywords = {{Membrane separation; Biorefineries}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{Membrane processes in biorefineries based on lignocellulosic biomass: Membrane opportunities in the production and water loop}},
year = {{2014}},
}