In the transition to a circular and biobased economy, biomass plays an essential role. It not only offers sustainable solutions, but also increases self-sufficiency and reduces dependence on fossil sources outside Europe. To facilitate this transition, TNO and its partners have developed the advanced biorefinery technology Fabiola. This technology converts various biomass residual flows into high-quality building blocks such as cellulose fibres, sugars and lignin, which significantly reduces dependence on fossil fuels.
One of Fabiola’s breakthroughs is the ability to extract 75-80% of lignin from biomass at a significantly higher quality than previously possible. Lignin, rich in aromatic compounds, is applicable in products such as adhesives, coatings, paints and polyurethane foam. In addition, the technology can extract 90-95% of cellulose fibres and 80-95% of sugars and furans from biomass, which are suitable for applications in building materials and the production of biodegradable plastics and chemicals, respectively.
Arjan Smit, Scientist Specialist at TNO, emphasizes the importance of scaling up: “We are working on applying this successful separation technology on a larger scale in a demonstration biorefinery, which can process up to 1 million kilos of biomass per year. This plant will be a 'proof of concept' for commercial feasibility and can serve as a blueprint for future large-scale biorefineries in Europe.”
The planned demonstration plant will initially focus on the production of green building blocks for the building and construction sector, a market segment that is growing strongly due to ambitious sustainability targets of European governments. According to Smit, 2030% of the materials in new buildings must be biobased by 25, which creates a huge demand for green building blocks. Biorefineries such as the one developed with Fabiola can play a key role in this.
Source: TNO
