The Carbofrac® continuous fractionation reactor enables extraction of the sugars contained in a biomass feedstock and is the centrepiece of BioGasol’s technology platform.
In a typical process, the biomass or plant material structure is broken down to enable access to three main components: cellulose (glucose), hemi-cellulose (primarily xylose, arabinose, mannose) and lignin. These components can be converted into energy carriers such as biofuels (e.g. bioethanol, methane), solid fuel pellets, biogas or plastic materials. As sugar is the most important feedstock for biochemical conversion processes (fermentation), this first step (often referred to as pretreatment) is vital for a biochemical process plant, both technically and economically.
The Carbofrac® system is designed to utilise an elevated temperature under a pressure corresponding to steam temperature. When the pretreated material is released, a rapid pressure drop, or “steam explosion”, occurs which further breaks down the structure of the biomass. Additives such as acid, base or solvents act as catalysts in the process and are typically applied in order to facilitate depolymerisation of the sugar-chains in the biomass. Dilute acid catalysed steam-explosion pretreatment is BioGasol’s reference process.
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Through its proprietary FirstSugar™ process, the Carbofrac® system provides a quality increase in solid fuel pellet whilst at the same time providing a continuous sugar stream without the use of enzymes.
The Carbofrac® is developed specifically for biochemical conversion, which includes enzymatic hydrolysis and various fermentation processes. BioGasol has worked with biochemical conversion for over a decade, using its proprietary Pentoferm™ fermentation process and Pentocrobe® microorganism, which allow the co-fermentation of all biomass sugars into bioethanol.
Finally, BioGasol has also successfully used the Carbofrac® system to increase the methane yield of up to more than 40% in biogas production on feedstocks such as manure fibres and wheat straw (ADEx™).