About ABC Salt

NMBU is a consortium partner and work package leader in ABC-Salt, a four-year European Horizon 2020 project coordinated by the University of Groeningen.

In ABC-Salt, a research consortium of nine European partners are developing an innovative new route to sustainable liquid biofuels such as middle distillates from various lignocellulosic waste streams.

REALTEK is responsible for work package 3, "Primary liquefaction", where the targeted objectives will be to select the feedstock supply and the molten salts. Feedstocks will be selected to represent typical, low cost supplies, readily available in Europe, while molten salt or salt mixtures will be chosen on basis of chemical and physical properties.

• Aims

  The project’s aim is to reach a conversion efficiency of lignocellulosic feedstock to middle distillates biofuels of at least 35wt.% dry biomass yield.

  Nine European partners are working together to solve the following technical challenges: liquefaction and subsequent catalytic hydro-pyrolysis of the biomass in a molten salt environment, followed by the catalytic hydro-deoxygenation of the vapour phase using suitable catalysts to obtain a hydrocarbon product suitable for use as a middle distillates biofuel.

  

  The ABC-Salt Consortium will then operate an integrated laboratory scale reactor during over 100 hours to provide lab-scale validation of the whole process, bringing this technology to TRL 4. The project includes technical aspects (such as substrate flexibility, biomass liquefaction and hydro-pyrolysis in molten salts and subsequent hydro-deoxygenation and their integration), but also a socio- and techno-economic viability study of the technology (substrate availability and supply chain, future end-users and economic sustainability of the process). This will ensure the future deployment of this new technology considering its social related issues, such as acceptance or modification of the perception of transport induced by such sustainable fuels.

  Such a holistic approach considering the full value chain, combined to communication with stakeholders during the course of the project, will provide valuable input for scale up and industry-oriented research after this project, maximizing the impact, amongst other in the biomass, biofuel and transport industry.

• Participants at NMBU

  Sepideh Niazi

  Former PhD student