New solvents derived from biomass

August 1, 2023 | By Gerald Ondrey

Last month, Circa Group A/S (Oslo, Norway; www.circa-group.com) applied for patents for two new solvents for CO2 capture processes. The solvents, named Furatech:1 and Furatech:2, were developed over the last 12 months as part of the company’s platform molecule, levoglucosenone (LGO), which is produced from waste biomass using the company’s Furacell process. The new Furatech solvents have been designed to be used in several current CO2-capture processes, and discussions are underway about further optimization with engineering partners.

“Applying for patents is a major step and we are sufficiently excited about the performance of these two new CO2 solvents that getting protection in place as quickly as possible is a priority,” says Tony Duncan, Circa CEO. “Furatech testing has shown good CO2-capture performance across multiple cycles, as well as lower energy requirements in the desorption phase compared to current industry standards.”

In parallel with this work, Circa Group is also planning for the commissioning of the ReSolute plant, which is scheduled for mid 2024. The ReSolute project, funded by the French government, the E.U. Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and the Bio-based Industries Consortium, will scale up the current production process to 1,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of the bio-based solvent, Cyrene, which is also derived from LGO ( Chem. Eng., May 2013, p. 12). The company aims to increase Cyrene production capacity to 80,000 m.t./yr by 2030.