The aim of the project REWOFUEL is to demonstrate the performance, reliability, environmental and socio-economic sustainability of the entire value chain for the transformation of residual wood to bio- Isobutene (bio-IBN) by fermentation and its further conversion into biofuels.
The first-of-a-kind bio-refinery will convert soft-wood into advanced, high performance, drop-in biofuels for gasoline and diesel engines and value added co-products. They all derive from a single biochemical intermediate, bio-isobutene (bio-IBN) as a direct replacement of fossil based isobutene (IBN), a well-known commodity chemical. REWOFUEL includes the development and up-scaling of this conversion process to TRL6-7 and the valorisation of co-products: energy-lignin, biogas, microbial-proteins for animal feed, organic-fertilizers and bitumen-lignin. Products derived from bio-based IBN, using the same process as fossil-based IBN, will provide a renewable and more sustainable alternative.
The project is set out to produce drop-in biofuels that do not require any engine modification. If successful, through the production of biofuels and co-products, the first-of-a-kind bio-refinery could save up to 510 kt of CO2 annually.
