News

PERFORM’s July 2021 Newsletter available for consultation

A new edition of the project’s newsletter is already uploaded to our website.

We’ve just compiled interviews, events, related projects information, and more here.

PERFORM consortium members present their progress in an online meeting

Last June 24 and 25, the PERFORM partners showcased different achievements in their designated tasks and discussed in separated workshops the future actions to be taken.

PERFORM at ESEE 2021

From June 14 to 17, PERFORM consortium partners TNO, University of Messina, and VITO attended the 12th European Symposium on Electrochemical Engineering (ESEE 2021), held online.

During the venue, Deepak Pant, Senior Scientist at VITO, Roman Latsuzbaia, Scientist at TNO & Voltachem, Carlos Sánchez Martínez, Chemical Research Scientist at TNO and Rosalba Passalacqua presented different abstracts and posters in several sessions:

Roman was involved in the sessions: Fast-tracking electrochemical innovations & matchmaking, and Electrochemical processes applications, and presented the abstract Electrochemical process development for production of biobased maleic acid. For his part, Deepak participated in the session Progress in electrocatalysis and electrocatalytic materials and showcased the abstract Development and upscaling of gas diffusion electrodes for wastewater treatment and electrosynthesis of chemicals. Likewise, Carlos was also involved in the preparation of the abstract and presentation entitled Overcoming mass transport limitations in electrochemical reactors with a pulsating flow electrolyser, together with Roman and other scientist’s colleagues. Finally, Rosalba was in charge of the preparation of the poster NiFe Oxides as Anodic Materials for the Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Glucose to Glucaric Acid.

The scope of ESEE 2021 focused on the topic Electrochemistry for electrification and energy transition toward a sustainable future with the aim to showcase scientific advances in physical, chemical, and biochemical routes towards a future where electrochemical engineering is part of a sustainable society, closing resource cycles and contributing to zero-pollution mobility and manufacturing.

PERFORM & LIBERATE join forces at the Organic Electrochemistry: Towards the electrification of the European Chemical Industry in 2030 webinar

On June 10, PERFORM and its sister project LIBERATE held a webinar entitled Organic Electrochemistry: Towards the electrification of the European Chemical Industry in 2030.

“PERFORM is expected to contribute to innovative technology development by reducing the impact of the chemical industry which is in line with Hysytech’s vision”

Interview with Sorani Montenegro, R&D specialist at Hysytech

What are the main responsibilities of Hysytech within the project? 

The responsibilities that Hysytech has in the PERFORM project are mainly focused on work package 4, where we are dealing with the engineering design, scale-up, process optimisation, manufacturing, and assembly of the final technology readiness level 6 platform technology for two targeted reactions. Together with the rest of the consortium partners, Hysytech is responsible for the development of sustainable technology, with high performance and cost-competitive to be able to produce the targeted valuable building blocks. To do so, we are working to build a simple and reliable process, highly integrated and optimised. Later, the process needs to be properly designed with process intensification, decreasing CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) and OPEX (Operating Expense), as well as emissions.

In PERFORM, two different showcases industrially relevant will be demonstrated; the first one consists of the paired electrosynthesis of furfural to maleic acid, and levulinic acid to valeric acid. The second showcase is the paired tandem electrosynthesis of glucose to glucaric acid and further glucaric acid to adipic acid.

Both showcases will be demonstrated in the same platform in which the electro-catalytic reactors will be integrated with the Downstream Process (DSP) for the separation of the reaction products from the electrolyte and product purification. The choice and the optimisation of the unit operations needed for the DSP are deeply dependent on the Upstream Process (UPS), while the UPS configuration depends, at the same time, on e.g., the initial feedstock, electrodes design, and materials, electrochemical reactor configuration, process conditions, etc. This makes clear that close collaboration of Hysytech with the partner dealing at lab scale with the USP and DSP is mandatory.

The UPS core is the electrochemical reactor. Hysytech is responsible for the design, optimisation, and construction of the reactor. A unique prototype of its kind (0.1m2) was manufactured by Hysytech by the end of 2020 and it is being validated at TNO for the production of maleic and valeric acid and it will be tested by VITO in the coming months for adipic acid production. Results from the first testing campaigns and feedback from VITO and TNO will be used to improve the reactor design. The final reactor will then be scaled up using multiple cells, commonly known as stack configuration.

What do you like most about the PERFORM project?

What I mostly like from the PERFORM PROJECT is the innovation degree and variability both in terms of consortium and scope of the project. 

The PERFORM project is aiming to reduce the environmental impact of chemical production by lowering CO2 and N2O emissions thanks to the use of biobased products, the development of highly integrated and optimised systems, and the use of renewable energy. In summary, the project is expected to contribute to innovative technology development by reducing the impact of the chemical industry which is in line with Hysytech’s vision.

 The consortium is a multidisciplinary group with considerable experience from which you can learn in different competencies. Lastly, we are all together doing really new things and developing innovative processes and it is very exciting for my team and me to be part of this challenge and see if things are going to work or not from a technical, sustainable, and economic point of view.

First joint Newsletter of SPIRE 02-2018 projects available for consultation!

Here you will find the latest advancements and key technologies developed on PERFORM, LIBERATE, DESTINY and SIMPLIFY.

The four projects address the same challenge: Processing of material feedstock using non-conventional energy sources.

Non-conventional energy sources, such as microwave, plasma, ultrasound a have already been applied in process intensification, mainly at lab scale, shond laser, as well as electrochemical and photochemical processes, wing significant improvements in process performance (e.g. improved selectivity, crystal nucleation, reaction speed easing raw material demand) for the benefit of energy efficiency.

The processes powered by non-conventional energy sources are suitable for connection to the electricity grid. They allow variable throughputs to better follow market demand and enable leaner production paradigms (e.g. decreased stock, production on demand). Such technologies are suitable for downscaling and continuous processing, where they can also be coupled with real-time monitoring allowing finer control of the transformations.

PERFORM reaches the middle term of the project

PERFORM celebrated on January 28 & 29 its M24 General Assembly meeting in an online version. There, the partners involved in the consortium informed about the progress of their different tasks.

A new milestone was achieved: the feedstock was selected and characterized. For that process, 7 analytical methods were developed for analysis.

User requirements and specifications for Perform Pilot platform and Conceptual Process Diagrams were delivered.

Likewise, the design and sizing of the reactor modelling were completed.

Preliminary Power Platform demonstration was done, and the system configuration is under the definition.

Finally, progress on the communication, dissemination, and exploitation activities was showcased.

Separated workshops were held to discuss the downstream processing and the two reaction lines. Other separated session was also organised to discuss Intellectual Property and Key Exploitable Results, to gather the opinion of the consortium companies.

“An LCA can provide decision support along the course of the project to verify and, if necessary, to apply corrections to the process in order to achieve more positive impact environmental indicators.”

Interview with Daniel Grau, Biobased Products and Bioenergy Engineer at University of Hohenheim and leader of the Process Assessment for PERFORM

How is an environmental life cycle assessment performed and why is it relevant for the project?

Society is becoming more aware of the importance of environmental protection and the environmental impacts associated with the production and use of products. This sparked interest in the development of methods that take these effects into account and contribute to understanding. The most important technique developed for this purpose is the four-phased life cycle assessment (LCA), a method standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040/44 standards.

The LCA is characterized by a large number of applications. The study can be used to identify opportunities that lead to the improvement of the environmental performance of products in the various phases of their life cycle. Furthermore, the LCA can help to inform decision-makers in industrial, governmental, or non-governmental organizations. This can influence decision making, e. g. in strategic planning, prioritization, and product or process design. The LCA is advantageous for the selection of relevant indicators of environmental properties including the associated measurement methods. Besides, the LCA can serve as a marketing tool, e. g., by implementing an environmental label or producing an environmental declaration for a product.

Within technical Projects such as the PERFORM project, an LCA can provide decision support along the course of the project to verify and, if necessary, to apply corrections to the process in order to achieve more positive impact environmental indicators.

“With our Techno-economic assessment, we provide a framework for comparative analysis, showing which parameters perform better to achieve PERFORM’s goals”

Interview with Gilbert Anderer, Marketing Consultant and Stefan Krawielitzki Head of R&D at AVA BIOCHEM, leaders of the Techno-Economic analysis and Market Assessment tasks for PERFORM.

Our company’s interest in the PERFORM project is aligned with our sustainability strategy: facilitate reducing the carbon footprint. We do so by testing the produced material in different formulations from the pilot

Interview with Konstantin Mpampos, Associate Specialist Chemistry R&D, Innovation at Perstorp AB

What is PERSTORP’s role in PERFORM? Why is it interesting for the company to participate in this project?

The main role Perstorp has in the PERFORM project is to test the produced material in different formulations from the pilot, in particular the valeric acid (VA), as well as to benchmark it against the one produced by other technologies on an industrial scale. VA and its esters are mainly used in perfumes and cosmetics as food additives, due to the fruity flavour of the esters, but also as plasticizers and pharmaceuticals.

Perstorp is at present producing VA on an industrial scale and has a long experience of different oxo processes, including a substantial experience on downstream products based, not only on valeric acid but also on other comparable acids and products. The company uses VA in esters for synthetic lubricants, as raw material for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) production, and for making esters for aroma chemicals. In example, ProPhorce™ Valerins (glycerol esters of valeric acid) is a new breakthrough product introduced by Perstorp for feed purposes to boost animal performance.

Our company’s interest in the PERFORM project, as well as in other projects that aim to use sustainable feedstock, together with technologies that facilitate reducing the carbon footprint, is aligned with our sustainability strategy set for the coming years.

Perstorp’s ambition is to achieve finite material neutral production. We continuously develop new products and applications based on sustainable raw material and energy. Green chemicals produced via the electrochemical route create valuable assets along the development path and toward fulfilment of the ambition we have as a company. Being one of the world’s leading chemical companies focusing on sustainable coating, adhesives, feed and food, and plastic material market segments it is important for us to follow the development and contribute to that.