Pilot Plant for the

bioconversion of

renewable feedstocks

and (agro/food…)residues

Joachim Venus

Leibniz-Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim e.V.

Max-Eyth-Allee 100, D-14469 Potsdam, GERMANY

Fon: +49(331)5699-112, email: jvenus@atb-potsdam.de

08.11.2013 2

White Biotechnology - Using renewable resources for industry

Biobased products and processes from renewable resources not only help

preserve the environment and climate,

but also make a significant contribution to the structural change from a

petrochemical to a biobased industry, with related opportunities for growth

and employment. Industrial biotechnology, also known as white

biotechnology, is an important driving force in this transition.

08.11.2013 3

Biorefinery-concept for (1st, 2nd, 3rd…?) biomass feedstocks

- BIOCONVERSION - - FERMENTATION -

Vodnar, D.C.; Venus, J.; Schneider, R.; Socaciu, C.:

Chem. Eng. & Technol. 33(2010) 468-474

08.11.2013 4

Top Value Added Chemicals from Biomass

Volume I — Results of Screening for Potential

Candidates from Sugars and Synthesis Gas (August 2004)

Scale-up of bioprocesses

[IEA Bioenergy:T42:2009:01]

(Pilot)Biorefineries in the scientific community

Biorefineries are

classified based on,

technological

(implementation) status,

type of raw materials

used or main type of

conversion processes

applied. A search of the

literature revealed a

variety of terms

describing

Biorefineries 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

600

650

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Oct'13

08.11.2013 7

The Copenhagen Declaration

for a Bioeconomy in Action

…

9. The conference also underlined the

need for new pilot and demonstration

plants and scaling up facilities, in

particularly biorefineries. It was stressed,

that the development of these facilities requires

smart integration of various funding sources,

including the Common Agricultural Policy, the

Common Fisheries Policy, the Cohesion Policy,

the Renewable Energy Policy, Horizon 2020, and

private investments.

…

Copenhagen conference “Bioeconomy in Action” on 26 March - 28 March 2012

Universities, Research Institutes, SMEs

Applied & basic research

Industry Industrial application

Large-scale production

„Valle

y o

f death

“

Carus/Carrez/Kaeb/Ravenstijn/Venus: Level Playing Field for Bio-based Chemistry and

Materials. – bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6, 52-55

08.11.2013 8

Pilot plant facility • pilot facility for production of lactic acid at the ATB consequently fills a gap in the

various phases of bioprocess engineering

• provision of product samples is intended to open up

the possibility of interesting partners in industry with

specific product requirements in various applications

BIOSTAT® Bplus (Sartorius BBI Systems GmbH, Germany)

equipped with a digital control unit DCU for the

continuous fermentation with cell recycling

scale up

Pilot fermentor Type P, 450 L (Bioengineering AG) Venus, J.; Richter, K.: Eng. Life Sci. 2007, 7, No. 4, 395-402

08.11.2013 9

Characteristic parameters of the used fermentation units

Lab / BIOSTAT®Bplus Bench / Biostat UD Pilot / Bioengineering Typ P

VL 1…10 Litres 30…60 Litres 200…400 Litres

d1 0,13…0,19 m 0,315 m 0,6 m

d2 0,053…0,070 m 0,125 m 0,25 m

d2/d

1 0,40 0,40 0,42

z 1…3 (rushton) 2 (rushton) 1 (propeller)

10

Continuous fermentation process with cell retention

„…Unbelievably, a cheap product such as lactic acid

has until recent-ly been manufactured by batch

processes, although continuous production is the only

economically viable way of producing it…”

Venus, J.: Res. J. Biotech 2009, 4, No. 2, 15-22

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

time [hours]

biomass

lactate

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

time [hours]

biomass

lactate

Fermentation with

cell retention

Pilot fermentor Type P, 450 L

(Bioengineering AG)

MOLSEP®Hollow fibre PES membrane

(FS10-FC-FUS50E2, MICRODYN-NADIR

GmbH/Daicen Membrane Systems

Ltd.)

Softening 2 x 135 L PUROLITE, 1,5 m³/h (UIT

GmbH Dresden)

Monopolar/Bipolar

Electrodialysis

FT–EDR/ ED4–15; 7,68 m2

monopolar/3,2 m2 bipolar (FuMA-Tech

GmbH Vaihingen)

Ion exchange Cationic resin, 50 L; Anionic resin,

2 x 90 L (UIT GmbH Dresden)

Decolorization Activated carbon, several specific

resins

Evaporation

«chemReactor» CR15 (Büchi AG

Uster/Switzerland);

Rotary Evaporator LABOROTA 20 S

(Heidolph Instruments)

11

Dow

nst

ream

pro

cess

ing o

f ra

w lacta

tes

& lacti

c a

cid

08.11.2013 12

Pilot plant for „Fermentation Process Improvement“

Opportunities & Challenges …

starchy materials,

lignocellulosics, residues & by-

products, green biomass

feedstock

sugars, hydrolyzates

press juice…

fermentation, down-stream

pretreatment bioconversion

(raw)lactate, lactic

acid, biomass...

…bioplastics

products

Venus, J.: Biotechnol. J. 1(2006) No. 12, 1428–1432

08.11.2013 13

Starchy materials (cereals, industrial grade corn/potatoe starch, tapioca)

Green biomass (alfalfa, grass juice, lupine, sweet sorghum, forage rye, silage, coco juice)

Lignocellulosics (wood/straw hydrolysates, 2ndG sugars)

Residues & By-products (bagasse, oilseed cake/meal, thick juice, molasses, whey, coffee residues, waste

bread, waffle residues, algae biomass, fruit residues, meat & bone meal…)

tapioca

bagasse

waste bread

pine

coco juice

2G sugars 2G sugars

1G/2G sugars

green biomass

several residues…

lupine

cereals,

straw

sorghum

Fermentation feedstocks already tested:

silage

algae

biomass

Coffee

residues

08.11.2013 14

Projects & Partners: FNR joint project SynRg (FKZ 22023008)

AiF ZIM/KF (FKZ 2050812ST0 & FKZ 2050813SB1)

International cooperation in education & research with Brazil (DLR BRA 08/A02 & FKZ

01DN12053)

International cooperation in education & research with Russia (DLR RUS 10/128)

COST-Aktion TD1203 "Food waste valorisation for sustainable chemicals, materials &

fuels (EUBis, http://costeubis.org/)" – MC Member

EU-Project BREAD4PLA, LIFE10 ENV/ES/479 (http://www.bread4pla-life.eu/index.php)

EU-Project CELLULAC, CIP-EIP-Eco-Innovation-2011 (GA304523)

Contract research / bilateral assignments (among others Uhde Inventa-Fischer Berlin; UIT GmbH

Dresden; Pfeifer & Langen KG Elsdorf; Uhde BT Leuna; Endress+Hauser Conducta Gerlingen;

NordBioChem Tallinn; Sustainable BioPoloymers Ltd.& NUI Galway; HF Biotec Berlin GmbH;

American Science and Technology Chicago; Fresh Factory GmbH & Co. KG Hamburg; Stenger

Waffelfabrik GmbH; Cenicafe-FNC Colombia; DIREVO Industrial Biotechnology GmbH; Hermetia

Baruth GmbH)

Eruca- und HO, polyphenolarm (Süd Chemie)

A cluster of 17 partners will explore the recycling of

vegetable raw materials along the complete value chain

Start of project: July 1st, 2009

2nd phase: July 1st, 2012

http://www.synrg-cluster.de/index.html

WP2: Technologies and Processes for the harvest, pre-treatment, and

purification, in particular: utilization of (oilseed/rapeseed) residues

Example agro-residues: Rapeseed cake/meal

Example fruit residues: e.g. mixed residues,

apple, orange, pineapple

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 50 100 150 200

Subst

rate

[g/L]

time [hours]

Mischobst

Ananas

Orange

Apfelkern

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 50 100 150 200

Lacta

te [

g/L]

time [hours]

Mischobst

Ananas

Orange

Apfelkern

I. Körner, C. Ezebuiro, R. Janzon, A. Ballon, J. Venus: Verwertung von Reststoffen der Lebensmittelindustrie – Biogas

und Milchsäure aus Fruchtabfällen (Tandemvortrag). 6. – 8. Mai 2013 · Bad Wildungen

Example coffee residues: coffee ground from the coffee percolator

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Lacta

te f

orm

ati

on [

g/L]

time [hours]

SF 1442 315 g/L coffee grounds

SF 1452 630 g/L coffee grounds

SF 1456 800 g/L coffee grounds

Fermentationen of pre-treated coffee ground in

several concentrations

Thank you very much for your attention!

With the support of:

Leibniz-Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim e.V.

Max-Eyth-Allee 100, D-14469 Potsdam, GERMANY

Fon: +49(331)5699-112

email: jvenus@atb-potsdam.de

http://de.linkedin.com/pub/joachim-venus/15/276/3b2/