Sustainability in the Food Chain * Sustainability in the Food Chain * Institute of Food Research: Exploitation Platform

About the HOOCH project

  • Project Sponsors: Defra Renewable Materials LINK programme & HGCA
  • Project Title: Production of Bioalcohols From Lignocellulosic Waste Materials Produced in the Agri-Food Chain

Purpose and significance of the projectCellulose microfibrils

The British Bioalcohols Group, in conjunction with industrial collaborators from throughout the supply chain, will create a unique UK consortium to develop an East-of England Pilot Plant system on the Norwich Research Park (NRP). This will be used to develop, evaluate and eventually commercialise tailored approaches for converting different sources of food-chain waste lignocellulose into bioalcohols for the automotive and related industries. The pilot plant system will enable the Group to target their multidisciplinary expertise on the creation of sustainable, second generation biofuels.

The 4-year research programme will involve the development of a tailored and unique physical (continuous steam explosion) pre-treatment with Brunel University, and enzyme-based combination processes for the saccharification of selected, large tonnage lignocellulosic wastes from cereals (straw, bran, brewer’s grain) and brassicas (rape straw). The research will also involve the exploitation of unique microbiological expertise for fermenting the sugars released (e.g. specialised pentose-fermenting yeasts from the National Collection of Yeast Cultures at IFR and bacterial-based fermentation at UEA) and the optimisation of bioalcohol exploitation in combustion.

The Consortium

The project partners include the Institute of Food Research, University of East Anglia, John Innes Centre and Brunel University together with nine industrial collaborators (Achor Ltd., Adnams PLC, Biocatalysts Ltd., HGCA, Group Lotus plc, Renewables East, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Vireol plc, G.R. Wright and Sons Ltd).

Project Website

www.hooch.org.uk

Who to contact for further information:

Professor Keith Waldron
Institute of Food Research
Norwich Research Park
Colney
Norwich
NR4 7UA
UK
Phone: +44 (0) 1603 255000
Fax: +44 (0) 1603 507723

E-mail: keith.waldron@ifr.ac.uk

 

Sustainability in the Food Chain Exploitation Platform Copyright Institute of Food Research Institute of Food Research