News

15-03-2022

Flemish Prime Minister visits VITO’s LignoValue Pilot

Recently, Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon paid a working visit to Biorizon co-initiator VITO. During a guided tour, the guests were presented with a number of projects that have outgrown the test tube, among which the LignoValue Pilot, a pilot installation that can produce more than 100 kg of innovative bio-aromatics a day from lignin.

Flanders has made a strategic move towards the development of bio-aromatics from lignin (a plant side-product from the wood and paper industry) to contribute to the realisation of a circular bio-based economy. In order to realise an industrially relevant breakthrough in this field, VITO - under the flag of Biorizon Shared Research Center - is investing in a pilot installation that can produce more than 100 kg of innovative bio-aromatics a day.

This should allow for the creation of a new value chain of these innovative bio-aromatics with commercial end-users who will market the materials. The new value chains should help reduce the chemical industry's dependence on fossil and secondary raw materials and thus contribute to reducing the effects of climate change (CO2 reduction).

Most of the processes for the production of lignin-based bio-aromatics have already been developed and demonstrated at lab scale. Since 2018, VITO has committed to design and build two pilot plants, namely LignoValue Pilot and PILLAR II, that allow the first production of bioaromatics from lignin. The LignoValue Pilot was delivered on 17 January and is currently in the final phase for commissioning, i.e. functional testing of the unit.

Take a look at this video that shows the arrival of the Ligno Value Pilot installation at VITO in Mol:

Source: VITO