Separation of lignocellulose

Testbed Separation of Lignocellulose and Residues on a Pilot Scale

The earth's circular and renewable raw materials are in demand and should be sufficient for a lot and increasing the need for research and development of them so that each element is put to good use. Separation of cellulose from forests, agriculture and the sea is a fundamental part of biorefinery and sustainable production. 

The digester system is highly flexible, and RISE has developed efficient methods and equipment for simulating all commercial cooking methods. RISE has extensive experience with various digester systems and continuously works on improvements in both sulfate and sulfite cooking. Chips and alkalines from the mill are used to simulate the existing digester in a laboratory environment under controlled conditions. The digesters can also be effectively utilized as reactors in biorefinery investigations.

Separation, fractionation, and purification of wood, agricultural, and marine cellulose: This involves separating, fractionating, and purifying cellulose from various sources such as wood, agriculture, and marine organisms. The process may involve breaking down the raw materials into their components to obtain purer cellulose. This can include techniques such as mechanical disintegration, chemical treatment, or enzymatic breakdown.

Improved yield: By improving the yield, the amount of high-quality cellulose extracted from the raw material increases. This can be achieved by optimizing processes to minimize losses and maximize the yield of useful cellulose fractions.

Designing cleaner processes for the future: Designing cleaner processes involves minimizing or eliminating the use of environmentally harmful substances and energy-intensive processes. This may include transitioning to renewable energy sources, using biodegradable chemicals, and reducing waste and emissions.

Improved separation and purification efficiency: By improving the efficiency of separation and purification, the process can be optimized to obtain higher purity levels and more homogeneous products. This can include using advanced separation methods such as membrane technology, ion exchange, and chromatography.

Digitalization and simulations: Using digital tools and simulation programs to model and optimize processes before implementation on a large scale. This can help identify potential bottlenecks, predict performance, and streamline process flow.

Characterization of raw material and product variations: This involves carefully analyzing and characterizing both raw materials and products to understand their composition and properties. This can include using advanced analysis methods such as spectroscopy, microscopy, and chemical analysis to ensure the quality and consistency of the resulting products.

Wood chips of different types and sizes can be cooked at the same time in the same digester under the same processing conditions but still kept separate. The process conditions can be varied with regard to e.g. time, temperature, displacement of cooking liquids, concentrations in cooking liquids and cooking methods. Adding cooking liquids during the cooking process can be made. Batch and continuous cooking can be simulated. It is possible to fill the digester with 40 kg of wood chips.

Suitable for studies: 

The digesters is ideal for wood examinations and can be used for performance tests.

Wood variations such as wood species is also possible to investigate such as root-top, age (juvenile-mature), chemical composition, dimensions, forest rot, storage rot, dry content, size distribution, impurities, density and brightness.

RISE can also carry out surveys in the field of deforestation, such as wood and wood storage, debarking, chipping, chip storage, chip screening, bark content, wood content in bark fraction, dry-raw density. Studies on wood chips such as lignin content, hemicellulose.

  • Lars Sundvall

    Contact for more information and discussions: lars.sundvall@more.se
  • Bioeconomy Arena an innovativ enviroment in cellulose

    Fibre line investigations, optimizations, mapping are studies RISE supporting you at the mills. Contact us for more information.

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