SECOND YEAR PROJECT RESULTS

The GLAMOUR project celebrates its second year of implementation during which the consortium has reached interesting results.

Technical improvements on the GLAMOUR technology: 

Argent Energy, in collaboration with the University of Manchester has developed a process for the purification of crude glycerol – the feedstock of the GLAMOUR process – through physio-chemical treatment, obtaining a glycerol purity of 84 wt.% and a glycerol yield of approximately 40 wt.%. In the coming months other purification routes, such as electrodialysis, suitable for other types of crude glycerol will be also investigated.

At C&CS, in a catalyst screening campaign, different catalyst systems were developed and examined on their surface, structural and mechanical properties as well as on their catalytic performance by the partner CSIC, allowing to identify suitable catalysts capable of producing the H₂/CO ratio targeted at relevant spatial velocities for the required process. CSIC has been developing NiFe based catalysts applicable for chemical looping reforming (CLR) of glycerol.

The University of Manchester has started the testing of the glycerol chemical looping reforming at TRL4 using a benchmark oxygen carrier material previously tested for other process as well as a small batch of the new material developed in C&CS. The gas-solid reactor modelling for the chemical looping reactor has been verified and the model is ready for validation after the experimental campaign will be completed.

In the lats months, VITO has been evaluating the impact of the impregnation method on the physico-chemical and catalytic properties of the 3D-structured catalyst for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process showing the impregnation of Co and Ru-based salts onto the 3D-printed alumina supports post printing as the greatest potential in terms of CO conversion, selectivity and scalability. This approach was therefore selected for scale-up for a fixed bed reactor at TNO. Multiple (>30) 3D-printed catalysts have been successfully developed and thoroughly screened at TNO’s facilities, enabling partners to verify that the reactor conditions are on course to reach TRL5 at the next stage.In addition, INERATEC has alsoperformed catalysts screening to better understand the influence of the FT reaction parameters and composition of the feed gas on the FT-products composition. This work helped the partners to compare the performance of the industrial catalysts to the reference provided by TNO.Following all these screening results, pilot FT experiments are being conducted by TNO using 3D printed structures made by VITO.

GLAMOUR process design:

A full design of the GLAMOUR process prototype at a TRL5 scale has been completed in WP5 at TU/e, which defines the operating conditions of setups such as temperature, pressure, gas composition for each step/cycle, and equipment. The energy balance of the process has been conducted using the characterization of oxygen carriers to evaluate the temperature variation during oxidation and reduction reactions in the reactors. A list of all equipment and instruments required to scale up the GLAMOUR set-up has been prepared. The list included more than 120 items currently under the procurement phase.

Environmental assessment, project exploitation and dissemination: 

The University of Manchester has also worked on the techno-economic assessment of the process at industrial scale and on the Life Cycle Assessment of the different parts of the plant to determine the main sources and more impacting steps for manufacturing new and conventional components and operating the overall process in terms of environmental performance. CIAOTECH has finalised the market and stakeholders’ analysis, gathering strategic information on the technology and market trends relevant for the project as well as mapping the most important organisations within and around the GLAMOUR value chain to set up engagement strategies. In this regard, INERATEC has actively networking with possible stakeholders and partners and continues its work on understanding the value chain of the FT Products and their market, sharing relevant details with the GLAMOUR consortium. Finally, in the framework of dissemination and communication activities, CIAOTECH and other partners have attended national and international events where the project has been presented including IFIB, the International Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy (Italy), ECOMONDO, the benchmark event in Europe for technological and industrial innovation in the field of green and circular economy (Italy), and the 5th H2020 Biofuels Workshop organized by CINEA.