Brightsite is committed to creating a sustainable chemical industry. One example of this commitment is using biomass as a building block for chemicals. However, this is still in its infancy and therefore an inventory has been made of the different types of biomass and technologies that could potentially be used. This makes it clear that if we want to use biomass as a raw material, we will need to take a critical look at which technologies are best suited to the processes here at Chemelot. Read more in the study ‘Biomass as a substitute for fossil raw materials’.
As part of Brightsite’s program line 2, three potential routes for obtaining circular resources have been identified and will be studied and developed:
- The gasification of plastic, domestic waste and biomass
- The pyrolysis of plastics
- The dissolution and depolymerization of plastics
Chemelot-trainee Esther Montrée has carried out a study into the use of biomass at Chemelot in the future. “In my research, I have listed the challenges, opportunities and possibilities for the use of biomass as a raw material. Where does the greatest potential lie? Since the use of biomass as a raw material is a very complex issue, and much remains to be done before biomass conversion can be achieved on a site like Chemelot, it is important that we take a good look at the various potential pathways,” stresses Montrée. Her report, ‘The use of biomass at Chemelot’, is the first step in this direction.