Biomass is a valuable, sustainable feedstock for the production of high added value chemicals and materials, and will play an important role in the transition of the European Process Industry to a Sustainable Process Industry. However, for the optimal utilization of these bio-resources the fractionation of the biomass on basis of functionalities is required. The innovative approach of BIO4PRODUCTS is to apply a short thermal treatment at elevated temperature enabling the fractionation of the bio-resource, but keeping the key chemical functionalities in separate, depolymerized fractions. Within the project the process will be demonstrated in a 3 t/d demo-plant. Subsequently, BIO4PRODUCTS will demonstrate the use of the resulting intermediate processing streams for the production of wood preservation products, furanic resins, phenolic resins and roofing material as cost-effective renewable alternatives for fossil resources in the conventional products (30-100% substitution). Each of the steps in the whole chain has at least been proven on bench-scale (TRL5) and should reach TRL 6-7 by execution of this project. The feedstock flexibility will be shown by demonstrating the complete chain for 4 different biomass resources representative for the majority of biomass resources available in Europe. Integral topics covered by the project are the techno-economic and environmental assessments as well as the development of business plans for subsequent commercialization of the individual product lines and the overall value chain. The BIO4PRODUCTS consortium consists of 2 large industries and 4 SME’s and 1 one non-profit organization covering the whole chain from biomass collection, primary and secondary conversion, and final use in end products. Additionally, specific expertise is included on environmental evaluation and the market introduction of sustainable products.

The objective of SmartCHP is the realization of a cost-effective and flexible energy system by using a liquid bio-energy carrier to fuel an efficient diesel-engine based CHP. It will develop a smart and flexible, small-scale CHP unit (100-1,000 kWe) fueled with fast pyrolysis bio-oil originating from different types of biomasses and/or residues. Fast pyrolysis converts biomass into a uniform liquid intermediate called FPBO, and the process is characterized by a high feedstock flexibility. Nowadays, FPBO is produced on commercial scale in Europe. For small scale biomass CHP systems a standardized fuel, enabling optimization of the conversion units and thus creating a cost competitive value chain, is highly preferred. Moreover, to achieve high resource efficiencies at all times a highly flexible ratio between heat and power generation is desired. A smart, demand driven unit should be capable of dealing with the fluctuating energy demand and/or varying availability of wind/solar power. The SmartCHP system combines a FPBO fueled engine and flue gas boiler to produce electricity and heat at a high efficiency over the whole load range. A dedicated flue gas treatment guarantees low emissions. Moreover, a wide, adjustable heat-to-power ratio is covered which enables to respond directly to actual energy demands. The final result of SmartCHP is an integrated system consisting of an engine, boiler and flue gas treatment system adapted and optimized to run on FPBO (TRL 5). A real-time, predictive, dynamic model will be developed to find the optimal operation point at all energy demands. Techno-economic, socio-economic and environmental assessments will be performed to identify real market opportunities. The SmartCHP unit will be based on standard diesel engines, and specific investment costs are expected to be around 1,200 Eur/kWe; an electricity price below 0.10 Eur/kWh is realistic. Several case studies will be presented to illustrate the opportunities throughout Europe.