The core goal of the Celbicon project is to ultimately produce high-value chemicals with a very low, or even negative, carbon footprint. This is done by capturing CO2 from the air and converting it to complex, valuable chemicals. The CO2 is converted by a sequence of electrochemical and biochemical steps. The energy required for the conversions can ultimately come from sustainable energy sources. More specifically, three reaction lines are performed. In the first reaction line (technological platform 1, TP1), after capturing CO2 from the air, it is electrochemically converted to high pressure syn-gas (CO and H2) and the oxidation of renewable chemical in a high value acid. Then, in technological platform 2 (TP2), the syn-gas is biochemically converted at elevated pressure to building blocks for bioplastics. In this biochemical conversion some CO2 is emitted again but it is recovered, together with excess captured CO2 from air, to be then converted in a second high-pressure bio-reactor to bio-methane. In the third reaction line (technological platform 3, TP3) demineralization of wastewater is done at the same time that air-captured CO2 is electrochemically converted to formate, which is subsequently biochemically converted to large valuable compounds, such as isoprenes.
During the project it was possible to fully develop (by research and engineering), assemble and test the TP1 and TP3 platforms at TRL5, demonstrating the feasibility of the integration of technologies for the CO2 capture from air and its electrochemical conversion to syn-gas and formate products. These reactions were coupled to another useful oxidation (i.e. the oxidation of furfural into fuoric acid in TP1 or the demineralization of biological wastewater in TP3). Among the bio-technological processes of TP2, a final scale-up was possible only for the biomethanation one, which reached unprecedent productivities at a TRL5 demo plant.
links: www.celbicon.org, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/679050
CELBICON is a H2020 project (Grant Agreement 679050) funded by the EU Commission (1/03/2016 - 30/11/2019). Celbicon aims at the development, from TRL3 to TRL5, of new CO2-to-chemicals technologies, conjugating at once small-scale for an effective decentralized market penetration, high efficiency/yield, low cost, robustness, moderate operating temperatures and low maintenance costs.
In line with the reference Topic text, these technologies will bridge cost-effective CO2 capture and purification from the atmosphere through sorbents (with efficient heat integration of the CO2 desorption step with the subsequent process stages), with electrochemical conversion of CO2 (via PEM electrolysis concepts, promoting CO2 reduction at their cathode in combination with a fruitful oxidation carried out simultaneously at the anode), followed by bioreactors carrying out the fermentation of the CO2-reduction intermediates (syngas, C1 water-soluble molecules) to form valuable products (bioplastics like Poly-Hydroxy-Alkanoates - PHA -, isoprene, lactic acid, methane, etc.) as well as effective routes for their recovery from the process outlet streams.
A distinctive feature of the CELBICON approach is the innovative interplay and advances of key technologies brought in by partners (high-tech SMEs & companies, research canters) to achieve unprecedented yield and efficiency results along the following two processing lines: i) High pressure processing line tailored to the production of a PHA bioplastic and pressurized methane via intermediate electrochemical generation of pressurized syngas followed by specific fermentation steps; ii) Low pressure processing line focused on the production of value-added chemicals by fermentation of CO2-reduction water-soluble C1 intermediates.
Over a 42 months project duration, the two processing lines described will undergo a thorough component development R&D program so as to be able to assemble three optimized TRL5 integrated test-rigs (one per TP) to prove the achievement of all the quantified techno-economic targets.
website: www.celbicon.org, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/679050