116
A. R. Abouelela et al.
5.7.1 Reaching Economies of Scale
Most academic research is focussed on achieving high product yield as a key process success indicator. However, as we discussed earlier from different aspects, the
translation of a process from a lab-scale to an industrially relevant scale depends on
several economically and environmentally relevant metrices, such as solvent stability, process compactness, energy consumption, and material integrity. Development
of a new process is generally capital-intensive, as piloting and demo facilities need
to be built to go from the laboratory scale to an industrial scale. To reduce risk in
at least the first few steps in the process, it is advantageous to consider a “bolt-on”
configuration in a host established facility or alternatively conduct trials in openaccess piloting facilities where critical process steps can be tested [148]. Typically,
open-access facilities are run as a contracting service, where trained engineers are
employed to run the tests for the customer further facilitating the scale-up process for
an academic team with limited industrial experience. However, these facilities are
often limited by the equipment available, which may not specifically be suited for
the process purposes; this limits the possibilities of testing at open-access facilities.
Also, as ILs are not yet commonly used in industry, the professionals working at
these open-access facilities are usually unfamiliar with their handling, which can
represent an additional challenge.
In addition, most equipment is typically made of stainless steel due to its good
corrosion resistance. As discussed in Sect. 5.6, ILs have a diverse corrosion behavior
based on their chemical structure and nature, and stainless steel may not be always
the most compatible metal. This, in turn, requires evaluating the corrosion behavior
of the IL understudy before starting the scale-up trials.
5.7.2 Finding the Right Niche
In the article “The Grand Challenge of Cellulosic Biofuels”, Lynd diagnosed the
reasons why investments in cellulosic biofuel had fallen way behind expectations
[34]. Other renewable energy sectors were able to thrive even though all sectors
faced the same economic conditions, especially the 2014 collapse in oil prices. A
significant reason was the overestimation of the technology readiness level. For the
past two decades, government, public, and private sectors were seeking big investments on mega-scale, stand-alone production facilities rather than niche applications.
Raising large investments marked the beginning of divergence of reality from expectations. Meanwhile, other renewable sectors (e.g., solar and wind energy) invested
in a stepwise manner, focusing on small projects where technological advancement
was needed (i.e., finding a niche), the learning curve was rapid, and investment risk
was minimal.
Since ILs are mostly unknown to industry, the use of ILs for cellulosic biofuel production or biomass pretreatment, in general, can be perceived as a (double) wild card.
A. R. Abouelela et al.
5.7.1 Reaching Economies of Scale
Most academic research is focussed on achieving high product yield as a key process success indicator. However, as we discussed earlier from different aspects, the
translation of a process from a lab-scale to an industrially relevant scale depends on
several economically and environmentally relevant metrices, such as solvent stability, process compactness, energy consumption, and material integrity. Development
of a new process is generally capital-intensive, as piloting and demo facilities need
to be built to go from the laboratory scale to an industrial scale. To reduce risk in
at least the first few steps in the process, it is advantageous to consider a “bolt-on”
configuration in a host established facility or alternatively conduct trials in openaccess piloting facilities where critical process steps can be tested [148]. Typically,
open-access facilities are run as a contracting service, where trained engineers are
employed to run the tests for the customer further facilitating the scale-up process for
an academic team with limited industrial experience. However, these facilities are
often limited by the equipment available, which may not specifically be suited for
the process purposes; this limits the possibilities of testing at open-access facilities.
Also, as ILs are not yet commonly used in industry, the professionals working at
these open-access facilities are usually unfamiliar with their handling, which can
represent an additional challenge.
In addition, most equipment is typically made of stainless steel due to its good
corrosion resistance. As discussed in Sect. 5.6, ILs have a diverse corrosion behavior
based on their chemical structure and nature, and stainless steel may not be always
the most compatible metal. This, in turn, requires evaluating the corrosion behavior
of the IL understudy before starting the scale-up trials.
5.7.2 Finding the Right Niche
In the article “The Grand Challenge of Cellulosic Biofuels”, Lynd diagnosed the
reasons why investments in cellulosic biofuel had fallen way behind expectations
[34]. Other renewable energy sectors were able to thrive even though all sectors
faced the same economic conditions, especially the 2014 collapse in oil prices. A
significant reason was the overestimation of the technology readiness level. For the
past two decades, government, public, and private sectors were seeking big investments on mega-scale, stand-alone production facilities rather than niche applications.
Raising large investments marked the beginning of divergence of reality from expectations. Meanwhile, other renewable sectors (e.g., solar and wind energy) invested
in a stepwise manner, focusing on small projects where technological advancement
was needed (i.e., finding a niche), the learning curve was rapid, and investment risk
was minimal.
Since ILs are mostly unknown to industry, the use of ILs for cellulosic biofuel production or biomass pretreatment, in general, can be perceived as a (double) wild card.