Introducing the TransBIB Competence Pool - In conversation with Arne Gröngröft

Head of Working Group Separation Processes and Process Development | German Biomass Research Centre, Leipzig

Dr Manfred Kircher: Good morning, Mr Gröngröft! I look forward to our conversation.

Arne Gröngröft: Good morning!

Dr Manfred Kircher: You are an expert in the TransBIB competence pool. Your area of expertise is the bioeconomy and you are committed to its further development in Germany. What sparked your interest in this area and how did you get involved?

Arne Gröngröft: My path into the bioeconomy was rather iterative. I originally wanted to become an engineer and started studying mechanical engineering. However, I lacked a deeper motivation for the subject, which is why I reorientated myself. Due to my interest in sustainability, renewable energies and environmental technology, I switched to process engineering with a corresponding specialisation. In the process, I came across the topics of bioenergy and biofuels, which ultimately led me into the bioeconomy sector.

Dr Manfred Kircher: Where did you study and when did you graduate?

Arne Gröngröft: I completed my studies at the Technical University of Hamburg in 2008. In the same year, the DBFZ (German Biomass Research Centre) was founded, where I was able to start directly as a research assistant. I worked there with great commitment on research projects on sustainable first and second generation biofuels and biorefineries. It was a very exciting start to my career.

Dr Manfred Kircher: Can you tell us more about the DBFZ? Surely its work is not limited to biofuels?

Arne Gröngröft: The DBFZ is a federal research centre that reports to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Our mission is to research and develop the utilisation of biomass for energy and materials. Around 270 employees work in various departments at the Leipzig site. These include the biorefineries department, where I work. But it also includes biochemical and thermochemical conversions, systemic biomass analyses with a view to sustainability and potential analyses.

Dr Manfred Kircher: What technology readiness level (TRL) do you research to, and how application-orientated is your work?

Arne Gröngröft: Our research ranges from laboratory scale to pilot and demonstration plants, i.e. approximately TRL 4 to 6, depending on the process. My department focuses primarily on the pilot plant scale.

Dr Manfred Kircher: How do you work together with industry and companies? Is that the rule or the exception?

Arne Gröngröft: We carry out both direct orders for companies and collaborations as part of publicly funded joint projects. Our research is always application-orientated, with the aim of bringing technologies to market maturity.

Dr Manfred Kircher: This means that the DBFZ is also an important building block for advancing the bioeconomy in Germany in terms of technology. What is your current position and remit at the DBFZ?

Arne Gröngröft: I have headed up the "Separation processes and process development" working group since 2011. Our focus is on the development of separation processes and processing cascades for bio-based products. We separate products primarily from aqueous solutions or suspensions that are contained in fermentation processes or other digestion methods.

Dr Manfred Kircher: Separation processes are an often underestimated but essential component of bioeconomic processes. What part do they play in the overall process development?

Arne Gröngröft: In fact, you raise a point that we agree with, which is why we have focussed specifically on this field. While a biorefinery process often only involves a few conversion steps, around 80 % of the investment is in separation technology. They therefore account for a very large proportion of the overall process development.

Dr Manfred Kircher: One point that plays a major role in the competition between bioeconomic processes and conventional processes is the product concentration in the reaction broths. These are often lower in bio-based processes than in fossil-based processes.

Arne Gröngröft: This is definitely a point that makes bio-based processes complicated and expensive. But the composition of the media we are dealing with can also be a challenge if, for example, it contains solids or very different components that need to be separated from each other. Substrates from the petrochemical industry are easier to handle.

Dr Manfred Kircher: So separation processes are a key area for making the bioeconomy competitive.

Arne Gröngröft: I agree with that. That's why it's important to think about separation technology right from the start. Many projects fail because the separation and purification of the products is only considered too late in order to convert them into marketable quality.

Dr Manfred Kircher: Can you give us a specific example of your work?

Arne Gröngröft: Yes, we are working together with the Leipzig Environmental Research Centre on a process for extracting medium-chain carboxylic acids from biomass. Silage is fermented and the resulting fermentation broth is processed using a separation cascade developed by us. Industrial partners are already testing product samples for applications such as bio-based lubricants. We are currently planning the next steps.

Dr Manfred Kircher: So it's about producing lubricants based on grass silage?

Arne Gröngröft: Yes, with the slight difference that in our case we started with maize silage. In the meantime, we have also transferred the process to residual materials such as apple pomace, which allows us to utilise additional sustainability benefits.

Dr Manfred Kircher: Now that we have introduced you as an expert in the TransBIB competence pool, we would like to talk to you today to involve you as a consultant. What services do you offer as an expert?

Arne Gröngröft: We offer feasibility studies to test and develop new processes. The projects can be handled as a contract so that confidentiality of the results is guaranteed. Colleagues can also be involved in order to carry out economic and sustainability analyses or potential studies at the same time.

Dr Manfred Kircher: In our preliminary discussion, you mentioned that you can also simulate processes.

Arne Gröngröft: That's right, that's also a topic we're looking into. The process simulations that we use to simulate the mass-energy balances of entire biorefineries help us to assess the transferability of our results from the pilot plant scale to a commercial, industrial scale. By calculating the mass flows of individual aggregates, the correct plant dimensioning and the resulting costs, we also help to analyse economic efficiency.

Dr Manfred Kircher: What is the USP of your working group?

Arne Gröngröft: Our strength lies in the separation of aqueous suspensions and solutions. These are often the kind of material systems that occur in biorefineries. We have a whole range of equipment with a throughput of between one and 100 kg/h. The equipment covers a wide range of separation processes - from solid-liquid to liquid-liquid separation. An overview of our scaling equipment will also be available via TransBIB in the future. The information can currently also be found on our homepage.

Dr Manfred Kircher: How can you imagine working with TransBIB in the future?

Arne Gröngröft: We are generally involved in various networking activities in order to engage in dialogue with other players from the industry and take part in topic-specific events. We are very pleased that there is now also a Germany-wide activity with TransBIB.

Dr Manfred Kircher: So you want to use TransBIB as a two-way street: On the one hand, you provide expert knowledge and expertise to the network, and on the other hand, you want to gain or initiate suggestions, initiation or project partnerships from within the network.

Arne Gröngröft: Definitely. We are always on the lookout for networking opportunities and are happy to initiate projects.

Dr Manfred Kircher: You are also active internationally?

Arne Gröngröft: Yes, I have had the honour of being National Team Leader in IEA Bioenergy Task 42 since the beginning of this year. It is entitled "Biorefining in a Circular Economy". Here, experts come together at an international level to discuss the development of biorefinery activities in the respective countries in order to learn from each other. We deal with topics such as policy, but also record current plants in order to create an overview. I am looking forward to representing the German community there and am available as a contact person. If you are interested, you can also get involved at any time.

Dr Manfred Kircher: Thank you very much, Mr Gröngröft. That's a very interesting message, that you are also able to network TransBIB internationally, both in terms of technologies that come from abroad and in terms of technology transfer from the network to international applications. With these concluding words, I would like to thank you for this interview. It was interesting to talk to you about the role of separation processes in the bioeconomy and about the expertise of the German Biomass Research Centre. From your offers of feasibility studies and process simulations to international project initiation. Thank you very much for this interview, Mr Gröngröft.

Arne Gröngröft: With pleasure, thank you very much.

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We would like to thank Arne Gröngröft for the interview.
The questions were asked by TransBIB project team member Dr Manfred Kircher.