Från “Bioinnovation Årsrapport 2024”
Ibland finns svaren någon annanstans än man först anade. Så var det för BIM Kemi som tillsammans med sina projektpartners fick stöd av BioInnovation för att bredda pappers- och massaindustrins användning av grön kemi. En bit in i projektet blev det stopp för den ursprungliga hypotesen – istället uppenbarades en oväntad lösning som kan göra stor skillnad.
Följ länken och ta del av hela rapporten om BIM’s medverkan i Bioinnovations årsrapport 2024: https://highlights.bioinnovation.se/2024/fossilfria-molekyler/ovantad-ravara-blir-gron-kemi-till-pappersindustrin/
English translation by BIM:
An unexpected raw material becomes green chemistry for the pulp and paper industry
Sometimes the answers are found somewhere else than you first expected. This was the case for BIM Kemi, who, together with its project partners, received support from BioInnovation to expand the pulp and paper industry’s use of green chemistry. Partway through the project, the original hypothesis was abandoned – only for an unexpected solution to emerge, one that could make a significant difference.
Rethinking a project mid-way is never easy. But that’s exactly what BIM Kemi had to do when, with support from BioInnovation and in collaboration with Chalmers, Rottneros and Lantmännen, they set out to replace fossil-based surfactants used in the pulp and paper industry with a green alternative.
Surfactants are used in a wide range of applications within the pulp and paper industry. Among other things, they act like a detergent, cleansing the pulp of unwanted substances in the wood fibre – a crucial step in producing high-quality pulp. These surfactants are typically entirely fossil-based, but BIM Kemi has developed one that is half bio-based. The aim of the BioInnovation project was to replace the remaining fossil-based portion, creating a fully bio-based surfactant.
- Our focus is to be innovation-driven and to compete with specialised, cutting-edge products. Green surfactants fit well into this strategy, says Fredrik Nyhlén, product and application developer at BIM Kemi.
- In an international context, we see that the Swedish pulp and paper industry stands out in its demand for green chemistry, as part of the transition to fossil-free production.
An unexpected turn lead to promising results
The project partners were granted an initial six-month period to test the hypothesis that sugars from Lantmännen could be used to create the fully green surfactant. The results looked promising, and they secured funding to continue with a two-year BioInnovation project. The development work continued, but it gradually became clear that the sugar-based hypothesis posed major challenges and could not be pursued further.
- We were midway through the project with many disappointing results, when we decided to test a raw material from biofuel production that had come up earlier but hadn’t been explored. This time it caught our attention – it showed extremely promising results, with a low environmental footprint and the potential to be more efficient than current surfactants, says Romain Bordes, associate professor of applied chemistry at Chalmers.
- Another important outcome of the project is that we were able to show young researchers at Chalmers how to move forward when they hit a dead end. The project’s results also contribute to other scientific activities in the field. It’s a great example of how a failure can be turned into a success.
Rapid upscaling on the horizon
Following initial tests at Chalmers, the next step is to scale up the production process together with Rottneros, a potential future customer of the green chemistry solution.
- The project supports our goal of achieving completely fossil-free processes and raw materials. Participating in projects like this is important for understanding the value chain and green chemistry in a broader context – not just in relation to our own processes, says Nils Hauri, head of innovation and strategic projects at Rottneros.
The development has progressed swiftly. Within just a year, the project aims to increase production from a few grams to several kilos. Fredrik Nyhlén concludes: - We’ve come a long way and now have strong results to present for what initially were highly ambitious ideas.
