hte Co. (Heidelberg, Germany), a company specializing in high-throughput experimentation, entered into an R&D service agreement with SUEZ (Paris). This collaboration is focused on the screening of various catalytic materials to convert biomass-derived feedstocks into sustainable gases. This biomass valorization R&D project featured a catalyst benchmarking step and subsequent poisoning resistance study aiming to qualify the optimum catalyst for commercial operations.
With global sustainability goals to prevent global warming that need to be reached as soon as possible, there has been an intense focus on ways to shift from a product mix arising from fossil feedstocks to one based on renewable resources that produces very limited or zero carbon emissions. Biomass has proven to be a key component of the energy transition. As a carbon-neutral source, it is a valuable renewable feedstock for reducing the aforementioned dependency on fossil feedstocks.
A 16-fold high throughput unit was used for this exploration of biomass valorization (Source: hte)
Using one of its proprietary 16-fold high throughput trickle-bed units, hte successfully accelerated the screening of catalysts under challenging operating conditions. The project generated data that helped pave the way to developing a catalytic process that enables efficient conversion of biomass into “green” gases. This screening study was successfully conducted despite numerous challenges posed by feedstocks and process conditions. In addition, a poisoning study was carried out to further identify the best class of catalysts amenable to successfully yielding desired gaseous products.
Gregory Tesse, Vice President Innovation at SUEZ, comments, “The valorization of biomass through catalytic conversion is a process of utmost interest to SUEZ in line with our sustainability strategy. Working with hte, we found an ideal partner to accelerate our research output, allowing us to test in their facilities in two months what would have taken us two years to achieve internally. The high quality of the results produced allowed us to narrow down our optimization to a few candidates identified during the proof of concept and screening project.”
“The pursuit of valuable, sustainable, affordable, and reliable feedstocks is at the forefront of strategic considerations for businesses and industries. hte, as a global solution provider for digitalized R&D lab workflows, is proud to be part of this critical yet amazing journey. We are deeply honored by the trust SUEZ has placed in our services to develop such a pivotal process. We very much look forward to further strengthening our relationship in future projects,” says Wolfram Stichert, CEO at hte.