Bioeconomy Cluster Builder: Industrial Applications of Biomass and Processing By-products - Consortium Building Workshop

Building on the fantastic level of engagement and participation at our May workshop, we are delivering this consortium building event to support our community in answering some of the core challenges identified for successful biomass utilisation:

• Supply chain connectivity
• Identifying and engaging the right stakeholders
• Scale up challenges

This will be a closed event and expressions of interest are invited from stakeholders to participate in targeted breakout rooms that will address these topics. Focus areas for these sessions will be aligned with our May workshop around non-food crops, waste biomass and harnessing the potential products from the distilling sector. We have industry led challenges from UnyteHemp and Argent Energy for two of the project builder sessions and a more general scoping session associated with the distilling industry.

Non-food crops (UnyteHemp) – Bio-based binders

Waste biomass (Argent Energy) – Downstream processing

Distilling industry (SWRI)   – New product exploration from co-product streams

UnyteHemp

Discussion and project building around identified opportunities including:

• Protein from hemp seed powder
• Resin from hemp seed oil
• Lignin from straw/fibre

The main challenge areas within these topics are:

• Viability
• Extraction
• Scalability
• Performance of binders
• Cost benefit analysis
• Life cycle analyses

Argent Energy

Argent Energy is interested in the downstream processing of a high value chemical. The target product is highly insoluble in water. The product will be synthesised using a cellular system, generating enzymes which will transform a waste triglyceride to intermediate products. A chemico-catalytic transformation will take place followed by further enzymatic steps.

They have a specific challenge: how can this high value product be efficiently removed from the system to produce a product of sufficient quality? Cellular material, a heterogenous catalyst and waste-water will be present.

Whisky Distilling Industry

To explore potential project options to produce high value products from whisky co-products using a biorefinery concept, addressing the main challenges:

• Local solutions – co-location with potential remote distillery sites
• Scalability
• Identification of routes to high value products
• Application of biorefinery concept

If you’d like to join the conversation and help build a project consortium to address one of these challenges please register for the event and complete the expression of interest (EoI) section by 1pm on Thursday 22th July. You will be notified on Monday 26th July on the outcome of your EoI.

You can find a recording of our May workshop here.

If you’d like any further information please contact kim.cameron@ibioic.com or dana.heldt@iuk.ktn-uk.org

The Bioeconomy Cluster Builder (BCB) project is a joint enterprise between KTN, IBioIC, and Scottish Enterprise to introduce biotechnology solutions to new markets and grow the bioeconomy in Scotland. The BCB Project is funded through ERDF.

• 10:00 | Welcome, Housekeeping and Introductions
• 10:10 | Breakout Rooms
• 11:15 | Next Steps and Close