FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is driving the move to a bio-based economy?
Since the industrial revolution, economic growth has been synonymous with increasing energy use, ever-greater reliance on fossil fuels and accelerating damage to the environment. The more we have produced, the more we have exploited our planet and depleted its resources.  Oil is a resource which is finite and price will keep on rising and become priceless. The need to cut CO2 emissions to fight climate change has made the transition from fossil fuels a priority for everyone, industry, decision-makers and consumers alike.

Together with renewable power generation techniques like wind and solar, rapidly developing industrial biotechnology has the potential to be a key tool for the low-carbon emission economy. Because biotechnology is based on renewable resources and bioprocesses are more efficient, it leads to significantly reduced carbon emissions.

In addition, more efficient agricultural practices have led to increased crop yields, stimulating rural development and creating opportunities to develop alternative economies such as the biobased economy.

 

What is biomass?
Biomass is a collective term for renewable, biodegradable products and waste materials from agriculture, forestry and industry. Examples include: wheat, soy, sugar beets and sugar cane, rapeseed (canola), wood, switchgrass, poplar, willow, palm oil, ...

 

What is a bioprocess?
Bioprocesses are used to produce chemicals, materials and fuels out of biomass.

 

What is industrial biotechnology?
Industrial biotechnology – also known as white biotechnology – uses enzymes and micro-organisms to make biobased products in sectors as diverse as chemicals, food and feed, detergents, paper and pulp, textiles and bioenergy.

The process works by transforming agricultural products or organic waste (also referred to as renewable raw materials) into other substances, in the same way as crude oil is used as a feedstock in the production of chemicals. In this way, industrial biotechnology can save energy in production processes and lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, helping to fight global warming. It can also lead to improved performance and sustainability for industry and higher value products.


What is a pilot plant?
A pilot plant is a medium scale processing plant which is operated as a test facility. It is used to optimize new processes and to gather information about the behavior of the system for designing larger production facilities. Pilot plants are used to reduce the risks associated with the construction of large production plants. They do this in two ways:

They are substantially less expensive to build than full-scale plants. The business does not put as much capital at risk on a project that may be inefficient or unfeasible. Further, design changes can be made more cheaply at the pilot scale and kinks in the process can be worked out before the large plant is constructed. They provide valuable data for design of the full-scale plant.

 

How flexible is The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant?
The pilot plant has a modular setup, capable of processing diverse biomass, for different users.

 

Bio Base Europe serves as an “open innovation” center. What does this mean?
The central idea behind open innovation is that companies can and should use external as well as internal ideas. At Bio Base Europe, different parties work together by sharing equipment, knowledge and insights but by guaranteeing confidentiality.
Pilot projects are performed for customers that maintain the rights to the developed technology. The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is open for all companies in the chemical, agro-industrial, energy, food, … sector from all over the world.

 

The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is a “one-stop-shop”. What does this mean and what are the advantages?
Ideally, the entire value chain from the green resource to the final project will be performed in a single plant. Today we often see product and process developers traveling along Europe for realizing the different steps of the process. This not only is a logistic nightmare but also pernicious for the stability of the product and reliability of the test results. 

 

What research infrastructure do I find in the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant?
In the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant you will find three pilot halls next to the basic infrastructure and the laboratory:

  • Red hall: for biomass reception and fractionation, biorefining and pretreatment of biomass (up-stream processing)
  • White hall: For industrial biotechnology processes and water-based down-stream processing (recovery and purification of the final product)
  • Green hall: for green chemistry and solvent-based down-stream processing (recovery and purification of the final product)

Present process equipment:

  • Bioreactors for fermentation up to 25 m³ scale
  • Chemical reactors for green chemistry up to 10m³ scale
  • Evaporation equipment
  • Crystallization equipment
  • Extraction equipment
  • Membrane process equipment
  • Ion exchange equipment
  • Drying equipment
  • ...

 

What does it cost to run my project at the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant?
The cost depends on the processes you want to run and the needed equipment. We will be happy to provide you with a quote after discussing your plans. A standard Non-Disclosure Agreement is typically signed prior to our discussions.

 

Who works in the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant?
Bio Base Europe has an experienced team that operates the process equipment. Early 2011, about 20 qualified and experienced people undertake the daily operations. This number will further increase to about 35 people by 2012.

 

Can I bring my own personnel to work at the facility?
The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant has its own specialized personnel to operate the process equipment. Those people will work closely together with your staff that can be present during operations to assist and oversee the testing. 

 

How can I be assured that my pilot plant project remains confidential?
The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is a completely independent pilot facility without industrial involvement. Industrial companies are very welcome as a customer, not as a shareholder. Our personnel is bound to a strict confidentiality agreement and a Non-Disclosure Agreement is typically signed prior to discussions with a customer. Your know-how is safe and the Intellectual Property rights generated through the pilot projects generally remain with our clients.

 

When will the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant be fully operational?
The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is operational and has performed its first pilot tests in December 2010. Meanwhile, we continue to build the plant and to complete the equipment. Please visit our website to follow the evolutions and contact us to see whether we can help you out.

 

What Bioprocesses will be visualized in the Bio Base Europe Training Center?

  • Biodiesel
  • Bio-ethanol 1st generation
  • Bio-ethanol 2nd generationBio-gasification
  • Heat pump
  • Solar cells
  • Wind turbine

 

When will the Bio Base Europe Training Center be operational?
The Bio Base Europe Training Center is currently built.