The Digest’s Top 10 Celluosic Project flashpoints, 10 Quick Takes

#7 Estonian forest magic: Sweetwater, Graanul to build first commercial biorefinery for cellulosic sugars, lignin

Sweetwater Energy and Europe’s largest wood pellet producer, the Tallinn, Estonia-based AS Graanul Invest, said that they will build a commercial-scale integrated biorefinery that will produce clean cellulosic sugars and highly pure lignin from 50,000 tons of local hardwood each year. In addition, the plant will allow the two companies to work with corporate partners to create and optimize innovative new products from sugar and lignin. The fully funded plant is made possible through significant investment and collaboration between the two companies by utilizing Sweetwater’s patented technology and Graanul’s existing infrastructure as one of the largest producers of wood pellets in the world. The plant will be the first to incorporate Sweetwater’s Sunburst pretreatment technology, which “splits biomass into its constituent parts faster and more effectively than any commercial process available today,” according to the project partners. “The result is lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower usage of water and chemicals while for the first time deriving significant value from all components of wood.” The project is expected to be operational by November 2019.
More on the story, here.