SCCER BIOSWEET I

SCCER BIOSWEET focuses on the biochemical and thermochemical conversion of wood, biowaste/manure and algae to gaseous and liquid biofuels with the vision to contribute 100 PJ towards fulfilment of the Swiss Energy Transition by 2050.

Factsheet

  • Lead school School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences
  • Institute(s) Agriculture
  • Research unit(s) Sustainability and Circular Economy
  • Funding organisation Innosuisse
  • Duration 01.01.2014 - 31.12.2017
  • Project management Prof. Dr. Michael Hans-Peter Studer
  • Head of project Prof. Dr. Michael Hans-Peter Studer
  • Project staff Xiros Charilaos
    Dr. Simone Brethauer Studer
    Robert Balan
  • Partner EPFL
    Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI)
    Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt WSL
    ZHAW
    Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW
    SUPSI - Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana
    ETH Zürich
    HES-SO
  • Keywords add. 100PJ, 30PJ from biomass, research consortium, liquid fuels, biogas, methanation

Situation

The Studer group (agronomy) is an academic research partner in SCCER BIOSWEET in WP1b ‘Liquid biofuels from wood, agricultural residues, and algae through pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation’.

Course of action

The Studer group focuses here on two topics i) the optimization of the steam-pretreatment and ii) on the up-scaling of a consolidated bioprocess (CBP). Steam pretreatment is the choice of industry for cellulosic ethanol production. However, there exist important issues with inhibition or sugar degradation that need to be solved. The Studer group developed a CBP based on a microbial consortium. The concept was proofed at the mL-scale and needs to be up-scaled to the L-scale.

Looking ahead

The project will be continued in a second phase, SCCER BIOSWEET II. The steam pretreatment will be further developed to be implemented in biogas production.