DIBANET:
Collaboration Between Ireland
and Brazil in Biofuels Research
Dr JJ Leahy – Carbolea, University of Limerick
Prof. Victor Teixeira – Federal Uni. Rio de Janeiro
Dr Daniel Hayes – Celignis Limited
Carbolea Research Group
• 27 members focused on the non-biological
methods for obtaining value from biomass.
Biochar and Soils
Heterogeneous Catalysis
Pyrolysis + Gasification
Bio-Oil Upgrading
Chemical Conversion
• Prior to 2009 – history of collaborations with Brazilian
organisations: EMBRAPA Rio + Sao Carlos (TerraPreta, soil); Uni. Of Curitiba, USP (Sao Carlos).
FP7 Call
Energy (2008): “Enhancing
international cooperation between
the EU and Latin America in the
field of biofuels”
• Any Latin American country could participate.
• Preference for countries with S&T agreements with EU
(Argentina, Chile, Brazil)
Preparation of Proposal
• Two-stage call: 1st – 15 page proposal, 2nd 115
pages.
• First Stage – identification of potential partners
via existing contacts and internet/journal
searches.
• Brazil important due to biomass potential
(bagasse).
• Second Stage – visit potential partners in Brazil
(EI FP7 co-ordinator grant) and optimise
proposal.
DIBANET
“The Production of Sustainable Diesel-Miscible Biofuels from the
Residues and Wastes of Europe and Latin America”
• €3.7m, 42 months, co-ordinated by Carbolea (UL).
• 13 partners, 5 from Europe and 8 from Latin America (5 from Brazil).
DIBANET
Consortium
The best expertise
from Europe and
Latin America
Pretreatment
1 Tonne of Biomass
Pretreatment
Products
Cellulose Pulp
No Grinding Required
Hemicellulose + Lignin (Soluble)
Acid Hydrolysis
DIBANET
Products
Flash
Levulinic Acid
Formic Acid
Residues
Residues
Furfural
Lignin
(258 kg)
(102 kg)
(90 kg)
(75 kg)
(127 kg)
(180 kg)
(487 kg chemicals
+ 180 kg lignin)
Combustion
Downstream
Conversion
Heat + Power
Catalytic Conversion (UFRJ)
Value-Added-Chemicals
Biofuels
Bio-Products
Brazilian Partner Roles
Analysis of biomass, development of
rapid (online) analytical methods
Thermochemical treatment and use of
residues
Catalytic conversions of products
Evaluation of process, products and
markets
Project Management
• Unfamiliarity with Brazilian partners
on FP7 bureaucratic and evaluation
procedures (PICS, LEARs, grant
payments, depreciation).
• DIBANET encouraged cross-region
collaboration:
• 2 Latin Americans undertook full-PhDs
in Europe.
• Summer school in Brazil.
• Networking days in Brazil and Greece.
• Biomass analysis database for Europe
and Brazil.
• Multiple visits to work in partner’s
laboratories.
PEQ/COPPE
• UFRJ – second largest Brazilian university.
• Largest catalysis group in Brazil.
• DIBANET encouraged collaboration with UL in the development of
catalysts for levulinic acid transformation into fuel additives.
• There was an exchange of students (6 months) between the two
parties.
• Different accounting practices to EU Research Programmes
(FP7/H2020).
• No national contact point for assistance in FP7/H2020 procedures.
Daniel Hayes - 2 Years in
Brazil
• Based in CTC (Piracicaba, Sao Paulo).
• Knowledge transfer of biomass analysis
techniques from Carbolea.
• Developed rapid analysis methods for Brazilian
biomass.
• Also assisted personnel from UNICAMP.
• Issues:
• High costs of imports (60% tax rate) and
bureaucracy of import procedures also problematic.
• Brazilian customs delays meant some project
Deliverables were not met on time.
• Exchange of personnel bureaucratic.
DIBANET Outputs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Major advances in chemical treatment of biomass (Carbolea).
Patent in biomass pre-treatment filed in Europe and Brazil (Carbolea).
Significant improvements in catalyst performance (UFRJ).
Interest shown in commercialising process in Brazil (Petrobras).
Online deployment in a sugar mill of biomass analysis technology developed
in project (CTC).
Sustainability assessment of process residues as soil amenders
(EMBRAPA).
Rapid analysis methods for Brazilian feedstocks.
7 PhDs (5 in Europe, and 4 in Latin America).
Close relationships formed between UL and Brazilian partners.
New Spin-Out
Company
• Irish company spun-out from
DIBANET research at Carbolea.
• Service – laboratory analysis of
biomass samples.
• Commercialises advances in
rapid biomass analysis.
• Enterprise Ireland and Local
Irish Enterprise Office assisted
formation and development.
• The formation of companies and
commercialisation of research
projects is a major target of
FP7/H2020.
Future H2020
Collaboration
•Energy (2016):
“Development of next generation biofuel
technologies”
“Demonstration of the most promising
advanced biofuel pathways”
“International Cooperation with Brazil on
Ethanol development”
•We are eager to cooperate with Brazilian
partners in future calls.
• Dr JJ Leahy, Carbolea, University of Limerick
j.j.leahy@ul.ie
www.carbolea.ul.ie
• Prof. Victor Teixeira – Federal University Rio de
Janeiro
victor.teixeira@peq.coppe.ufrj.br
peq.coppe.ufrj.br
• Dr Daniel Hayes – Celignis Limited
dan@celignis.com
www.celignis.com
089 455 5582