Upm-Kymmene Corporation

Upm Paper Ena Oy

Sami Turunen

Juha Tamper

Jere Salminen

Harri Kosonen

Kari Luukko

Stefan Fors

Petri Myllytie

Mauno Miettinen

Meri Ventola

Mika Laitila

Vilho Nissinen

Tarja Sinkko

Nina Pykäläinen

Nina Heiming

Lisa Weigand

A method for producing mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) from a wood-based raw material, and wherein method includes: i) providing a wood-based feedstock originating from the wood-based raw material and including wood chips, wherein at most 5 weight-% of the wood chips in the wood-based feedstock are overthick wood chips as specified by SCAN-CM 40:01, and subjecting the wood-based feedstock to at least one pretreatment to form a liquid fraction and a fraction including solid cellulose particles; ii) subjecting the fraction comprising solid cellulose particles to enzymatic hydrolysis to form a lignin fraction and a carbohydrate fraction; iii) subjecting the carbohydrate fraction to catalytical conversion to form a liquid composition of glycols; and iv) recovering mono-ethylene glycol from the liquid composition of glycols. Further is disclosed a corresponding arrangement and mono-ethylene glycol obtainable by the method.

Production of mono-ethylene glycol

Method and control system are provided for controlling values of process parameters of a pretreatment process of wood particles. A sampler is used to obtain a sample of a product flow of said pretreatment process after said wood particles have undergone steam explosion in a hemihydrolysis reactor. A particle measurement device is used to measure one or more characteristics of particles in said sample and to produce one or more pieces of measurement information indicative of the measured characteristics. Said one or more pieces of measurement information are used to select one or more values of one or more of said process parameters.

Method and arrangement for feedback based control in chemical refining of wood

In a method and an apparatus for an enzymatic hydrolysis in which plant based raw material is hydrolysed by means of enzymes in at least one enzymatic hydrolysis stage. A plant based feed () is fed to the enzymatic hydrolysis stage () in which the plant based feed is hydrolysed. A liquid fraction () comprising carbohydrates is separated from a solid fraction () in a solid-liquid separation stage (). At least a part () of the solid fraction () comprising enzymes is recirculated to the plant based feed () of the enzymatic hydrolysis stage () or to the enzymatic hydrolysis stage (), and a rest part () of the solid fraction () is recovered. Further, the invention relates to the liquid fraction and the solid fraction and their use.

Method and an apparatus for an enzymatic hydrolysis, a liquid fraction and a solid fraction

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for producing a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction (), in which lignocellulose material () formed by treating plant based raw material () is conducted into a separation stage (). The method comprises at least one solid-liquid separation stage () for separating a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction () and/or a washing filtrate () from lignocellulose material (), and at least a part of the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction () and/or the washing filtrate () is recirculated to the lignocellulose material () for increasing concentration of the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction, and solids () and at least a part of the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction () are supplied out from the separation stage. Further, the invention relates to the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction and the solid fraction, and their uses.

Method and an apparatus for increasing concentration of soluble carbohydrate containing fraction, a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction, a solid fraction and their use

An arrangement for feeding wood particles into an impregnating stage of a wood treatment process comprises a feed silo (), at least one impregnating vessel () for receiving wood particles into said impregnating stage, and two or more conveyors () between said feed silo () and said at least one impregnating vessel (), for transferring wood particles from said feed silo () to said at least one impregnating vessel (). Each of said conveyors () is a compressing conveyor for applying pressure to the wood particles on their way through the respective conveyor.

Arrangement for feeding wood particles into impregnating

A method for treating plant based raw material with an enzymatic hydrolysis. The plant based raw material is treated to form lignocellulosic material. The lignocellulosic material or a solid fraction thereof is subjected to the enzymatic hydrolysis. The method includes treating the plant based raw material in at least one treatment stage for forming the lignocellulosic material including over 80% fine solid particles that are fiber-like or indefinable particles smaller than 0.2 mm and the viscosity of the lignocellulosic material is below 18000 mPas at 15% dry matter content. The method further includes subjecting the lignocellulosic material or at least one solid fraction thereof into the enzymatic hydrolysis for forming a lignin based material. The method further includes subjecting the lignin based material into at least one solid-liquid separation stage after the enzymatic hydrolysis and separating a lignin fraction and a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction.

Method and an apparatus for treating plant based raw material with an enzymatic hydrolysis

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for treating plant based raw material with an enzymatic hydrolysis, in which the plant based raw material () is treated to form lignocellulosic material () and the lignocellulosic material () or its fraction () is conducted into the enzymatic hydrolysis (), wherein the method comprises at least one treatment stage () in which the plant based raw material () is treated so that the lignocellulosic material () contains over 80% fine solid particles which are fiber-like or indefinable particles smaller than 0.2 mm, defined by an optical measurement device, the lignocellulosic material () or at least one fraction () of the lignocellulosic material is supplied into the enzymatic hydrolysis () for forming a lignin based material (), and at least one solid-liquid separation stage () after the enzymatic hydrolysis () in which a lignin fraction () and a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction () are separated. Further, the invention relates to the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction, the lignin fraction, the lignin based material, the liquid fraction and the solid fraction, and their uses.

In a method and an apparatus for recovering chemicals from an alkaline lignin material, the alkaline lignin material () which comprises NaOH or KOH is precipitated in presence of an acid in a precipitation stage () for forming a precipitated lignin (), the precipitated lignin () is supplied to a separation stage () in which a purified lignin () is recovered and from which at least one fraction () which comprises Na or K is supplied to a crystallization stage (), and the fraction () which comprises Na or K is treated by crystallization in the crystallization stage () for forming a crystallized compound (). Further, the invention relates to use of the purified lignin, and lignin and chemical products.

Method and an apparatus for recovering chemicals from an alkaline lignin material

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for washing a crude lignin slurry () formed from plant based raw material, wherein the method comprises separating a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction () from the crude lignin slurry () by using displacement washing in at least one solid-liquid separation stage () so that the crude lignin slurry is prepressed, washed and pressed, and recovering a solid fraction () and the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction (). Further, the invention relates to the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction and the solid fraction, and their uses.

Method and an apparatus for washing a crude lignin, a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction, a solid fraction and their use

A method and apparatus for enzymatic hydrolysis where a plant based feed is hydrolysed using an enzyme to form a hydrolysed product. An additive for preventing enzyme adsorption is fed to an enzymatic hydrolysis stage, the plant based feed, the hydrolysed product, a starting material, and/or a plant based material formed from the starting material. The hydrolysed product is supplied from the enzymatic hydrolysis stage to a first solid-liquid separation stage where a lignin fraction comprising the additive and a liquid composition comprising the enzyme are separated. The liquid composition is mixed with the plant based material in a mixing stage, forming a mixture. A solid and liquid fraction are separated from the mixture in a second solid-liquid separation stage. At least part of the solid fraction comprising the enzyme is fed as the plant based feed to the enzymatic hydrolysis stage.

Method and an apparatus for an enzymatic hydrolysis, a liquid fraction and a lignin fraction

In a method and an apparatus furfural is recovered from a steam stream () which is formed in a treatment of a pretreated wood based material (). The pretreated wood based material () which comprises at least carbohydrates is treated in a steam treatment stage () in which the steam is released. The steam stream () which comprises furfural is supplied out from the steam treatment stage (). A pretreated and steam-treated wood based material () which comprises carbohydrates is supplied out from the steam treatment stage (), and the steam stream () is treated in a recovery stage () for recovering a furfural based fraction ().

Method and an apparatus for recovering furfural

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a composite product comprising organic natural fiber material and matrix material, wherein the method comprises mixing the organic natural fiber material with the matrix material in a primary mixing stage to form a mixture. The primary mixing stage comprises a contacting step in which the organic natural fiber material comes in contact with the matrix material that is at least partly in a form of melt, and compression ratio of the organic natural fiber material is less than 8. The method further comprises forming a composite product comprising the mixture. Further, the invention relates to a composite product, a use of the composite product, and a system for manufacturing a composite product.

Method and a system for manufacturing a composite product and a composite product

Providing composite structures with micro contoured surface layer. There is provided a method to adjust roughness level of micro contoured surface layer when manufacturing a composite and products thereof. The micro contoured surface layer may cover all or at least part of the surface area of the composite product. The roughness level of micro contoured surface layer may be increased or decreased by controlling the process parameters. In particular, there is provided a method to increase the roughness level of composite material having a primary surface layer with a primary surface roughness by softening the primary surface layer of the composite material by heating and providing a secondary surface layer of the composite material surface with a secondary surface roughness by cooling the softened surface layer. Further, there are provided methods to determine and visualize the level of micro contoured surface layer roughness on a composite product surface.

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Lappeenranta, Finland

Sami Turunen