The AQUA-COMBINE biorefinery plant at AAU

As part of the H2020 project AQUA-COMBINE, AAU has in 2020 build Phase 1 of the demonstration plant for processing of halophyte biomass (e.g. Salicornia) into bioactive extracts (for cosmetics and functional foods), pre-biotic protein and carbohydrates, and biogas. The plant consists of all unit operations needed be able to process and valorise the non-food part of Salicornia, giving added value for Salicornia farmers in a circular manner, where all fractions of the plants are utilised.

Phase 1 consists of: Washer, shredder, extractor, autoclave reactors, juicer, fermentors, separation tank, and biogas reactor.

Key processes will be further scaled up to demostration scale during 2021 in Phase 2 of the execution of the plant.

Figure 1: Overview of the AQUA-COMBINE biorefinery demostration plant (Phase 1)
Figure 2: Installation of the unit operations.
Figure 3: AQUA-COMBINE unit operations beeing tested with biomass from partners in Portugal and France.

                                       
                                                                                                                              

Acknowledgement

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 862834. Any results of this project reflects only this consortium’s view and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.