Netherlands’ Demo Site
ACRRES
The Application Centre for Renewable Resources (ACRRES) is located in Lelystad, in the Netherlands, featuring various research modules.
Spread across 1,200 hectares, this demo site was set up as a collaborative effort between two research institutes at Wageningen UR (Applied Plant Research and Animal Sciences) to test, investigate and demonstrate current and future potentials of renewable energy and green raw materials.
The processing of biomass via biorefinery is one of their core activities, with the aim to further science-based contributions towards building a circular, bio-based economy. Two installations on their site will be directly involved in Rural BioReFarmeries: GoGrass (refining of grass towards fibres) and AlgaNed (algae production system).
Main areas of work
Alternative and sustainable protein production
Using nutrients from residual flows (e.g. from grass processing) to cultivate algae as an alternative source of protein and animal feed additive, using a combined experiments and mathematical modelling approach to optimise the required input of energy and nutrients.
Grass-based circular business models
Unlocking the untapped potential of grassland and green shrubs, making it usable, reducing imports of nutrients and dependence on fossil fuels, and finding ways to provide the resulting benefits to strengthen rural communities. The results achieved in Go-Grass (e.g. transition to pulp as a feedstock and brown juice input) will be iterated and scaled up alongside the industrial partner Paperfoam with the aim of increasing the percentage of grass fibres used in their sustainable packaging offering.
Technologies and processes
For AlgaNed:
Thin-layer photobioreactor
Cultivation section of the installation, where the alga grows from sunlight and LEDs, open nature ensures good gas transfer and thin layer provides a good environment for producing at a high biomass concentration.
Mixing and storage
A storage tank for the algae when it is not in the thin layer section, mixing is provided to ensure there is no sedimentation.
Harvesting
Settling tanks are used to concentrate and harvest the algae, with a secondary route back into storage to circulate water and remaining nutrients.
For GoGrass:
Garbage detection
Automatically identifies and removes garbage which would contaminate the final product.
Dry digestion
Anaerobic digestion of biomass in a batch configuration.
Washing
Washing step for the product of the digestion step.
Alkali treatment
Remove lignin and neutralize the pH of the stream.
Milling
Takes the wet fiber grass particles and refines them to grass paper.
Gas storage
A product of the anaerobic digestion is biogas which can be used for heating and energy generation.