First production of isobutene from wheat straw at demo scale
Sugars from wheat straw have been produced with Clariant’s sunliquid® technology at its pre-commercial facility in Straubing, Germany, which have been shipped to Global Bioenergies’ demonstration plant in Leuna, Germany. There the wheat straw hydrolysate was successfully converted into cellulosic isobutene for the first time at this scale. The produced isobutene is then converted by INEOS into polymers and oligomers, that can be used in any number of high-performance applications, e.g. cosmetics, rubber, plastics, solvents or fuel application. These runs took place under the funded project OPTISOCHEM, which started in June 2017 as part of the H2020 program by the BBI-JU. The aim of this project is the demonstration of a new value chain, based on the combination of innovative technologies and know-how by renowned consortium members.
