\u201cTwo roads diverged in a wood and I \u2013 I took the one less travelled by.\u201d Robert Frost<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s say there are 2 roads \u2013 one a traditional fossil-fuel based asphalt road and the other a biobased lignin asphalt road. Which one would you take? We know you can make almost anything out of lignin, so why not a road? And that\u2019s just what happened in the Netherlands with the world\u2019s first test road made from bio-asphalt with lignin. This lignin \u2013 fully plant-based and produced by Avantium \u2013 is used as a substitute for bitumen in asphalt, which is derived from crude oil.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s Digest, all about the new bio-road, the tech behind it, lignin\u2019s markets, applications, tech and other recent lignin news making us look at it in a new way, and more.
\nWorld\u2019s first bio-asphalt road<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with the big news and world\u2019s first \u2013 Infrastructure company Roelofs started construction of the world\u2019s first test road made from bio-asphalt with Dutch lignin. The fully plant-based lignin is produced by Avantium and is used as a substitute for bitumen in asphalt, which is derived from crude oil.<\/p>\n
In collaboration with the province of Groningen, the 250-metre-long lignin-based test section is being constructed in the north of the Netherlands, on the N987 between Siddeburen and Wagenborgen. This test road is part of the CHAPLIN XL project, a collaboration of industrial and academic parties aiming to demonstrate that lignin as bitumen replacement works effectively at scale and leads to a significant CO2 reduction of road construction.<\/p>\n
The CHAPLIN XL (Collaboration in aspHalt Applications with LIgniN) project members comprise academic and industrial organisations. Project members are Avantium, Roelofs Groep, Utrecht University, Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, Asfalt Kennis Centrum, H4A Infratechniek and Stichting Biobased Delta. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland \u2013 RVO) awarded the CHAPLIN XL project with a \u20ac1.5 million grant in 2020.
\nHow?<\/p>\n
Bitumen is the traditional binder in asphalt, but can be replaced by lignin. The binding properties of lignin in asphalt are extensively tested in the lab and the results look very good. Lignin in asphalt is also already used for the construction of a cycle path in Wageningen, the Netherlands. This was three years ago and the path is still in good condition. One difference with bitumen is that it is liquid when added to the asphalt, whereas lignin is a powder that is added at the asphalt plant.<\/p>\n
In its DAWN pilot biorefinery in Delfzijl (the Netherlands), Avantium converts woody feedstock into industrial sugars and lignin. Lignin can be used for energy generation, but is also suitable for many higher value applications such as for bio-asphalt. In total, about 1,000 kg of Avantium lignin was added to the asphalt to replace a portion of the bitumen used in the production of the top layer of the test section on the N987. The DAWN biorefinery has been made possible with a financial contribution from the province of Groningen.<\/p>\n
The asphalt producing partners of CHAPLIN XL have improved the process to produce bio-asphalt at conventional asphalt plants, allowing for the scale-up of the lignin-based asphalt technology. Avantium closely collaborates with Roelofs, who has the ambition to transition to bio-asphalt.<\/p>\n
Here are highlights from Avantium\u2019s 2020 Annual Report \u2013 FDCA, PEF, PlantMEG, Sugars, Lignin: The Digest\u2019s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to Avantium where you can find out more about their technologies.
\nWhat\u2019s next?<\/p>\n
Roelofs will also construct a second test section on the N987 with conventional Kraft lignin from a Finnish paper mill.<\/p>\n
The CHAPLIN XL partners will analyse the lignin-based test road on performance, on techno-economic feasibility and on environmental benefits through a life cycle assessment (LCA). Preliminary results of this LCA indicate that lignin-based asphalt allows for a substantial reduction of the carbon footprint compared to its fossil-based counterpart.<\/p>\n
Results show that based on 8 million tonnes of new asphalt in the Netherlands annually and an analysis of the complete life cycle, there is a CO2 reduction of approximately 200,000 tonnes. This depends, however, on which layers in the asphalt are replaced, which type of lignin is used and which calculation method is used. In addition to being plant-based, lignin in asphalt can be processed at lower temperatures compared to bitumen (140 degrees Celsius instead of 170 degrees Celsius), which also saves energy.<\/p>\n
Reactions from the stakeholders<\/p>\n
Annelie Jongerius, senior scientist at Avantium responsible for the valorisation of lignin, said, \u201cWe are excited to showcase the potential of our lignin for the production of bio-asphalt. It is a great example of realising Avantium\u2019s mission to replace fossil-based chemicals and materials with renewable alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerard Hoiting, managing director at Roelofs, is pleased with the collaboration and said, \u201cAs a company we have the ambition to be climate neutral in 2030. Not only internally, but also with clients and partners we look for innovations and concrete applications and inspire each other towards a better world. This collaboration is a great example of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin Junginger, professor Biobased Economy at Utrecht University and project coordinator of CHAPLIN XL, said, \u201cFor the wide application of lignin in road construction in the future, it is necessary for road constructors to be able to provide financial, technical and environmental validation of bio-asphalt in tenders. We also notice that there is high international interest from road constructors for our test results\u201d.<\/p>\n
IJzebrand Rijzebol, member of the Provincial Executive for Groningen, is pleased that the innovative test road is being built on the N987 near Groningen Seaports and Chemiepark Delfzijl. The production of the bio-asphalt will also take place in Groningen, at Asfalt Production Westerbroek (APW) in Westerbroek. The Chemport Europe ecosystem in the Dutch northern region is known as a leader in green chemistry and in reducing CO2 emissions. \u201cThe northern region of the Netherlands has high ambitions to move away from fossil resources and to transition to a circular economy also based on regional available resources such as sugar and wood residues. The CHAPLIN XL partners share this ambition and the bio-asphalt test road therefore fits well with our goals\u201d.<\/p>\n
Why is lignin so hot right now?<\/p>\n
If you want to take a peek into why lignin, what the newest tech and applicationsare, where the markets and key players are, and more, check out this slide guide from Jack Miller of Biobased Markets which takes us right into the pages of a new comprehensive study \u2013 Tech, Markets, Apps, Key Players: The Digest\u2019s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to Lignin 2021.<\/p>\n
You can also check out MetGen\u2019s Enzymatic Lignin Fractioning & Refining: The Digest\u2019s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to MetGen here to get a look at what\u2019s behind their inspiration, the bioprocessing tech behind next gen biorefineries, how to de-bottleneck a biorefinery, the possibilities with enzymatic lignin refining, their commercial road map, and more.<\/p>\n
Check out this slide guide \u2013 From Co-Product Lignin to Biodegradable Polyurethanes: The Digest\u2019s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Lignin Valorization \u2013 that dives into the basic polyurethane chemistry, how lignin-based polyurethanes are made, pretreatment, structural changes, the latest work from 3 research organizations on this hot topic, and more.<\/p>\n
And let\u2019s not forget about all the research that has been happening this year on lignin, like this groundbreaking research into white-rot fungi that proves its value in carbon sequestration from lignin done by scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) or this research in France that found that microbes from the guts of certain termite species can help break down lignin, which can be super helpful for applications in lignocellulose biorefineries.
\nBottom Line<\/p>\n
Lignin \u2013 you can make almost anything out of it and money, it has a wide array of applications like the latest world\u2019s first bio-asphalt road, it is relevant to many markets, and it\u2019s a way to get into a more circular economy. So let\u2019s convert the road less traveled to the road more traveled by getting biobased innovations more mainstream.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cTwo roads diverged in a wood and I \u2013 I took the one less travelled by.\u201d Robert Frost Let\u2019s say there are 2 roads \u2013 one a traditional fossil-fuel based asphalt road and the other a biobased lignin asphalt road. Which one would you take? We know you can make almost anything out of lignin, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[17617,5831,11828],"supplier":[742,8390,18581],"class_list":["post-89294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioasphalt","tag-biorefinery","tag-lignin","supplier-avantium-technologies-bv","supplier-biofuels-digest","supplier-roelofs-bv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89294"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=89294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}