The main Objectives
The main objective of this project is to boost the sustainable Mediterranean-forest management by upgrading an existing biorefinery using torrefaction and pyrolysis (TP) to produce renewable chemicals and fuels from forest biomass.
First, demonstration forest areas will be selected, from which different biomass will be harvested to be fed in the TP platform. Different innovative forest treatments will be carried out to demonstrate the best combination between economic viability and the conservation of ecosystem services and biodiversity. Several types of forest will be addressed: post-fire regenerated forests of Aleppo pine, cork oak forests and post-disturbance/decayed forests, whose products have no actual value in the current forestry market.
Several byproducts (BP) will be obtained from the biorefinery: two biooils (BP1,BP2), biochar (BP3) and noncondensable gases (BP4). Biooils will be subsequently fed into the extraction unit to separate the antioxidants phase (polyphenols) (final product FP1) from an Aqueous Phase (BP6). The biochar, in turn, will be used in biomass boilers to produce heat (FP2) and the resulting ashes (BP5) will be returned to the forest demonstration areas as an external input of nutrients and minerals, closing the biomass cycle. BP3 and BP6 will also be used as fertilizer (FP3).
Specific objectives are:
- To produce antioxidants and fertilizers from different combination of forest biomass types.
- To determine the best combination between economic viability and the maintenance of ecosystem services and the conservation of biodiversity.
- To disseminate the results of the project to different stakeholders involved in the value chain, of both biorefinery and forest management.
- To set up the local biorefinery with a capacity of up to 100 kg/h to produce biooil and solid biofuels in continuous coupled with the conventional extraction unit to extract the antioxidants phase from biooil.
