Chemical processes

Starting materials for the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries from lignin, renewable energy and CO2

The focus is on the process engineering development of chemical processes for the production of bio-based basic, fine and platform chemicals as well as petrochemical products for further processing in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries. The starting materials for these processes are alternative sources such as lignin, renewable energies, electricity-based H2 and CO2 from flue gases or after adsorption from the air.

In addition to the development and transfer of new process concepts from laboratory to pilot plant scale, the optimization of material and energy efficiency also plays an important role. Theoretical considerations and process simulation can be used during development to optimize process steps, examine their energy efficiency and balance them.

 

Lignin added value

In order to operate sustainable and economic biorefineries, the conversion of lignin into high-quality products is essential. Various processes for the modification and depolymerization of lignin are examined and scaled, which maintain or increase the structure and functionality of lignin. In this way, new, previously inaccessible aromatic structures with new functionalities and thus a new range of services are identified that can be used in a variety of industrial applications.

 

Electricity-based fuels and chemicals

In the course of the energy transition, power-to-X technologies are increasingly moving into the focus of research, as surplus electricity from renewable energy generation can also be used for the electrochemical production of basic chemicals or fuels. This means that the use of renewable energies is expanding to the chemical sector. At Fraunhofer IGB and CBP, we are investigating how regeneratively generated "green" hydrogen can be used in sustainable synthesis processes, such as the chemocatalytic conversion of CO2 into platform chemicals or fuels.

 

Downstream processing

This area includes the development of processes for the purification and downstream processing of product mixtures. For custom applications, new downstream processes are developed, scaled and evaluated. The industrial feasibility of the process is already evaluated and optimized on a laboratory scale.

Process design and plant engineering

Using modern simulation tools (CHEMCAD, Aspen), together with our project partners we evaluate the developed processes with regard to their energy and raw material efficiency, plan and construct plants and put them into operation.

Range of services

The range of services extends from representing the process parameters on the laboratory scale through to scaling processes up to pilot plant scale. Highly sophisticated reactions can be realized under high pressures (350 bar) and temperatures (up to 500°C) with the equipment and process technology installed. The following examples should be mentioned: gas phase reactions with hydrogen, oxygen or ammonia as well as reactions in the presence of flammable substances, in a strongly alkaline or acidic medium or in the near- and overcritical aqueous phase.

Process design and plant engineering

Together with our project partners and with the help of modern simulation software (ASPEN) the processes we develop are evaluated with regard to energy and resource efficiency; the further development of processes is therefore facilitated in an efficient way. The piloting of the processes also permits to synthesize relevant product quantities, for example for sampling purposes or the validation of the material flows for subsequent process steps.

Equipment

With the equipment available at Fraunhofer CBP we can represent a variety of established types of reactions and conversions in the gas or liquid phase, but we can also realize them with solids. Here the main emphasis is on catalytic reactions for the (de-)functionalization of biogenic raw materials. Before pilot testing, feasibility studies in the 0.1 – 10 liter scale can be carried out or the required synthesis stage can be modified accordingly.

Continuous and discontinuous reactors are used for scale-up to the pilot scale in order to demonstrate conversions in the kilogram to the metric tonne range. These reactors are designed in accordance with ATEX specifications (Zone 2).

 

Particularly noteworthy are:

  • Stirred tank reactors for discontinuous reactions under atmospheric conditions with a capacity of 1, 10 and 100 liters
  • Stirred tank reactors to represent pressure reactions up to 200 bar at 300°C with a capacity of 0.3, 1.2 and 50 liters, suitable for homogeneously and heterogeneously catalyzed reactions in the gas and liquid phase
  • Flow tube reactors for high-pressure reactions on laboratory and pilot scale for the conversion of biogenic material flows, also in the gas phase

Reference projects

Flexibilization of the chemical industry

Infomaterials

 

Brochure "Material use of lignocellulose"

Process development and scale-up