FLEXBY: Flexible and advanced biofuel technology through an innovative microwave pyrolysis & hydrogen-free hydrodeoxygenation process.

Biomass-derived liquid transportation fuels have been proposed as part of the solution to mitigate climate change and many countries are providing incentives to support the growth of bioenergy utilization. Nevertheless, most biofuels currently are made from food-related sources and have a negative impact on food production. The development of cost-effective solutions to minimize carbon waste and inhibit biogenic effluent gas emissions in sustainable biofuel production processes is still at an early stage of development.

 

FLEXBY intends to significantly boost this development by producing advanced biofuel through an innovative, cost-efficient process reaching TRL5. At FLEXBY we aim to produce biofuel using biogenic waste from microalgae cultivated in domestic wastewater as well as the oily sludge from refineries. This residual biomass would undergo a microwave pyrolysis treatment to produce three different fractions: bioliquid, pyro-gas, and bio-char.

 

The bio-liquid fraction is converted to jet, diesel, and marine bio-fuels (heavy transport biofuels) through a versatile and innovative Hydrogen-free Hydrodeoxygenation. The gaseous fraction is converted to bio-hydrogen through a steam-reforming water gas-shift process (WGS) and preferential CO oxidation (PrOx). Both liquid and gaseous biofuel are tested and validated in fuel cells to produce electricity, along with an evaluation of their respective suitability for the transport sector.

 

FLEXBY promotes a circular economy by recycling biomass residues and all sub-products obtained during the project. The combined expertise of the industrially-driven consortium from five different countries supports these objectives. In terms of impact, FLEXBY aims to increase the use of advanced biofuels in the heavy transport sector, mitigating climate impact in key areas of the global economy.

Our main tasks

• Project Coordination and day-to-day management activities.
• Financial and administrative management.
• Risk and Ethic issues management.
• Exploitation and Innovation management.
• Data management.
• Multidisciplinary design optimisation.
• HAZOP.
• Fine-tune and further optimization.

Partners

IDENER.AI | KNEIA | CSIC | FRICKE UND MALLAH MICROWAVE TECHNOLOGY | GREENDELTA | A4F ALGAFUEL | UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLA | PETROGAL | POLITECNICO DI MILANO | CO2 VALUE EUROPE

Start date – finish date

05 / 2024 - 04 / 2028