A new co-research project within the SPIRIT programme was launched in September 2024 with the aim to explore a new kind of value chain. This value chain will integrate biological processes in a unique way to produce renewable chemicals from renewable raw materials – to be utilized by a variety of industries. Professors Marika Kokko from Tampere University (TAU) and Janne Jänis from University of Eastern Finland (UEF) are working in this groundbreaking collaboration together with Borealis and many other actors.
The project’s background is to explore a new type of value chain capable of producing renewable chemicals from renewable raw materials for various industries. Three biological processes will be combined and optimized to produce valuable raw materials. This type of integration has not been done before in a co-research project.
The isoSUS project consists of three work packages focusing on conversion of industrial side and waste streams to short chain fatty acids that are further converted to selected products. The selected value chains are evaluated through assessing their techno-economic potential (see figure above). At the moment, fossil raw materials are required to produce a majority of the chemicals in the global market. The future economy will rely on the exploitation of waste and side streams, for example, from forest industry or agriculture that produce almost 28 million tons and over 18 million tons of side streams, respectively. Utilization of side and waste streams also promotes circular economy, sustainable development, low-carbon society, decreases emissions and improves self-sufficiency.
Chemicals can be produced with bioprocesses intensified with synthetic biology. While these processes currently require sugar-rich streams, exploitation of side and waste streams would enable more sustainable production of chemicals.
The ambitious aim of the isoSUS project (Industrial symbiosis on CO2 and waste and side stream conversion to sustainable products) is to investigate the possibilities for producing sustainable chemicals by combining some already established processes in a new way using CO2 and/or organic side streams. The goal is to identify the necessary unit processes for the selected side streams and products, how the selected processes can be monitored and controlled for optimal performance, and how the selected products can be separated. Furthermore, the entire processing chain will be evaluated through assessing its techno-economic potential.
Professor Marika Kokko from the subunit of Bio and Circular Economy in TAU explains that the co-research project will explore two different industrial side streams: CO2 and organic side streams from the forest industry. Sawdust, bark, and fibre sludge are among the side streams of interest in this project. In the project, hydrothermal methods are used to explore the outcomes of the different processes. The first phase involves producing short-chain fatty acids from these raw materials. The second phase investigates how these fatty acids can be converted, for example, into alkanes. A comparison will also be made between biological conversion and cracking to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of each method.
The project partners aim to demonstrate microbiological pathways to provide raw materials for the chemical industry. The challenge lies in the integration of unit processes, optimizing them to ensure that effluents are suitable for the subsequent processes in the value chain. Thetechno-economic analysis will be crucial in identifying the most viable process routes. This will be performed by University Lecturer Juha Ahola from the University of Oulu.
Professor Janne Jänis from the Chemistry Department in UEF Joensuu campus adds: “Our focus is on the pre-treatment of raw materials and optimizing these methods to identify those with the most potentials. This involves developing suitable fractionation methods and identifying possible scenarios for cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness, especially using water as a solvent.”
The results of the project will boost the export potential of the companies involved. Sustainable raw materials and their efficient exploitation are a prerequisite for the Finnish industry and will have an extensive international relevance. As the isoSUS project addresses making chemicals from side and waste streams as well as from CO2, it contributes to the sustainability goals of companies and industry sectors by enabling prevention of climate change and reduced use of natural resources. In addition, it will support biodiversity and promotes circular economy approaches.
Ismo Savallampi from Borealis concludes: “Borealis aims to increase the use of renewable feedstocks in plastics production. In the SPIRIT programme, we are systematically studying different raw materials and related process routes. In the IsoSUS project, together with our partners we are curious to learn how we could utilize microbiology to convert existing bio-based waste streams to useful chemicals and even cracker feeds.”
The isoSUS project consortium brings together University of Tampere (TAU), Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), University of Eastern Finland (UEF), University of Oulu (OU), Borealis, Fortum, Solar Foods, TM Systems and Fifth Innovation.