ABC-Salt : How to Make Sustainable Biofuels from Solubilized Lignocellulosic Waste

ABC‐Salt was an ambitious and challenging European H2020 project aimed at developing an innovative cost-effective technical solution for the production of sustainable biofuels from biomass. in the middle distillate range. Such biofuels could be applicable to the transport industry, both on roads (biodiesel) and in air (jet fuel).

Biomass is known to behave intrinsically different than fossil resources, which are at the moment the feeds for transportation fuels. With ABC-Salt, biomass derived fuels are produced from several lignocellulosic waste streams including lignin-rich ones. The use of such waste streams, which are abundantly available at low prices, will help to overcome any feedstock limitations while keeping short supply chains.

The groundbreaking step beyond the state of the art of this project was the use of a solubilized biomass source in combination with an excellent heat transfer medium (molten salt). Such combination is expected to lead to higher biomass-to-hydrocarbon yields than existing processes, while combining all beneficial aspects of existing technologies.

Lignocellulosic waste streams were converted through an advanced thermochemical conversion process involving biomass liquefaction, catalytic hydro-pyrolysis of the biomass in a molten salt environment, followed by the catalytic hydro-deoxygenation of the liquid phase.

The integrated concept has been demonstrated and continuously operated at lab scale for more than 80 hours in a dedicated bench scale unit, which will be the prototype for a future fuel production system in an industrial environment, moving the technology to TRL4. An overall hydrocarbon liquid yield of 58 wt% was obtained, way better than the target objective of 35 wt% set in the original proposal.

The scientific knowledge generated by ABC Salt will allow key stakeholders in the biofuels arena (e.g. policy makers, regulatory authorities, industry, interest groups representing civil society) to frame strategic choices concerning future energy technologies, and to integrate biofuels and biomass in the current and future energy systems.

Nine European partners were involved in this 4,5 years project. Professor Eric Heeres from the University of Groningen (Netherlands) coordinated ABC-Salt with the support of BENKEI.

More information on ABC-Salt: https://www.abc-salt.eu/

More information on BENKEI: https://www.benkei.fr/en/home/