CO2SMOS, VIVALDI and CATCONVERS: three projects for the green transition of chemical industries [Promoted content]

The chemical sector is a key industry in today’s world, as chemicals are present in more than 90% of manufactured goods, including essential products like disinfectants and medical devices. However, the production of chemicals and derived materials relies on massive use of fossil carbon. Such feedstock are needed to provide energy (electricity and heat) and the carbon molecules that constitute most products (e.g. plastics).

Lara Tottolo is Communication and Dissemination Officer for CO2SMOS and VIVALDI.

Pablo Morales Moya is Communication and Dissemination Officer for CATCO2NVERS.

According to the international scientific community, uncontrolled carbon are causing unequivocal changes in our global climate and the degradation of life on Earth. While all industries need to adopt solutions to drastically reduce emissions in order to reach climate targets, the chemical sector is one of the most promising and open to innovation.

Bio-based industries, a branch of the chemical sector, use organic waste and biological residues for the production of food and animal feed, bio-based products and bioenergy. By using enzymes and fermentation processes instead of traditional chemical synthesis, bio-based industries increase process efficiency and decrease energy and water consumption. However, these processes still produce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of biogenic nature. Now seen as a waste product and emitted into the atmosphere, such emissions can become a precious resource and support the industry’s transition towards a circular economy.

The projects CO2SMOS, VIVALDI and CATCO2NVERS collaborate to address the environmental challenge of decreasing CO2 emissions of bio-based industries by developing innovative Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) solutions to convert biogenic CO2 into high-added-value chemicals.

Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) is a diverse set of technologies that allow for the capture and use of CO2 as a feedstock for the production of essential carbon-containing products like chemicals, but also fuels and building materials. CCU technologies can allow various processes to reach net zero or even negative CO2 emissions, and are especially useful for carbon-intensive sectors where no or very few alternatives exist to reduce emissions.

In this context, the three projects have been funded with a total of €20 Million by the European Research and Development Programme Horizon 2020 to fill the gap of those CCU pathways that are still in labs, prototype, or pilot phases. By exploring different solutions and business cases, CO2SMOS, VIVALDI and CATCO2NVERS gather the expertise of international partners representing the entire value chain to transform the biorefineries into a new CO2-based industrial sector, contributing to largely decrease the carbon footprint of the industry and boost the European Union economy.

The commitment to collaborate and the holistic approach of three consortiums position these initiatives as a promising pathway towards a more sustainable and carbon-efficient industrial future.

CO2SMOS: an integrated toolbox of five technologies for bio-based industries

The CO2SMOS project develops solutions to transform the carbon emissions generated from bioprocesses and renewable sources (green hydrogen and biomass) into different sustainable bioproducts: durable polymers, renewable biochemicals, and biodegradable materials. With these compounds, it is possible to produce greener end-products such as packaging, coatings and textiles. 

CO2SMOS integrated hybrid solution combines innovative biotechnological and intensified electrochemical/catalytic conversion processes. The demonstration of the technical, economic and environmental sustainability of the different CO2SMOS technologies will allow the design of an integrated platform of CO2 conversion processes for this industry sector.

VIVALDI: a fully circular pathway for the chemical sector

Focusing on four key bio-industry sectors (Pulp & Paper, Food & Drinks, Bioethanol and Biochemicals), the VIVALDI project transforms real off-gases into 4 organic acids: lactic acid, succinic acid, itaconic acid and 3-hydroxypropionic acid. These high-value chemicals can re-enter the plants’ production process to enhance their sustainability, or open new business opportunities as building blocks for novel biomaterials. 

In VIVALDI, the building-blocks and nutrients required for  yeast-based bioproduction of these added-value organic acids are obtained from gaseous and liquid waste. The feedstocks (methanol and formic acid) are produced via the electrochemical reduction of CO2 that has been captured from industrial flue gases. The nutrients are recovered from the wastewater of the same or nearby industries using bioelectrochemical systems.

CATCO2NVERS: a novel, bottom-up approach to produce bioproducts

The overall idea of CATCO2NVERS is to reduce greenhouse gasses emissions from the Bio Based Industries transforming waste CO2 from two bio-based industries into five added-value chemicals:  glyoxylic acid (GA), lactic acid (LA), furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME), cyclic carbonated fatty acid methyl esters (CCFAMEs) and bio methanol, with application in the chemical, cosmetics and plastic industry the project will process bio-based products replacing fossil material with a zero or negative greenhouse gas emissions.

CATCO2NVERS is focused on reducing industrial CO2 emissions while exploring new procedures to produce bioproducts. With this aim, a bottom-up approach is used by the design and development of innovative catalytic technologies for the valorisation of CO2 in the fabrication of different biobased products, including monomers for bioplastics production, using CO2 streams from biorefineries.

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The CO2SMOS, VIVALDI and CATCO2NVERS projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements No. 101000790, 101000441 and 101000580.

References

Kähler, F. and Carus, M. et al. 2022: CO2 Reduction Potential of the Chemical Industry Through CCU. Editor: Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), April 2022.

Sapart, C. and Arning, K. et al. 2022: Climate Change Mitigation: The contribution of Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU), October 2022.