Topsoe will participate in the construction of the world’s first plant producing DME from biomass. Within 18 months the plant will supply four to five tonnes daily of the new biofuel dimethylether, DME.
“Topsoe has extensive DME experience, and we are pleased to be part of this important project, which potentially will make a substantial contribution to solving the energy challenges of tomorrow,” says Technology sales manager Jens Perregaard, Technology Division.
The plant will be constructed as part of the European project “BioDME”, coordinated by Volvo. The BioDME project will demonstrate the entire technology chain from biomass to trucks running on DME including fuel distribution and dedicated filling stations. The project was kicked off yesterday with activities in Stockholm and Piteå.
The biofuel supply chain
Topsoe and Chemrec will design and build the new DME plant, which will be located at the Smurfit Kappa paper mill in Piteå, Sweden. The plant is based on the gasification of black liquor – a by-product from paper production – and Topsoe’s unique DME synthesis.
The project partners represent all industrial sectors necessary to introduce a new fuel. In addition to Topsoe, also Volvo, Chemrec, Delphi, ETC, Preem and Total are partners in the project. ETC will evaluate performance characteristics in the pilot plant, Delphi delivers fuel injection equipment for the truck engines, Preem will implement the DME distribution and build filling stations and Total will work on fuel and lube oil specifications. Volvo will demonstrate DME technology for heavy vehicles in a field test.
EU project
The consortium agreement between the seven international partners was recently signed and the project approved by EU. The project is co-financed by the partners of the consortium, EU’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7) and the Swedish Energy Agency with a total estimated cost of 28 million Euro.
About DME
Dimethylether – DME – is potentially a highly competitive renewable alternative to today’s fossil fuels. DME produced from bio-resources has high energy efficiency and minimal climate impact. DME vehicles have very low exhaust emissions, partly due to soot-free combustion. DME is a non-toxic chemical that is already used today as propellant gas in spray cans as well as a substitute for LPG for cooking purposes.
Contact
Technology sales manager Jens Perregaard, tel. +45 4527 2646, e-mail: jep@topsoe.dk
Information on the BioDME project will be available on www.biodme.eu