Project

Detailed information about the BIOCTANE research project, its goals, and the next steps.

Partner

Our project partners and their contribution to the project’s success.

Research

BIOCTANE’s recent publications and dissemination events.

About

Reducing GHG emissions, in line with the Paris Agreement, is particularly challenging regarding producing “green” liquid fuels with a high energy density, especially for the aviation sector. The BIOCTANE project aims to develop and optimize an innovative process for converting organic waste materials (e.g., food-waste, organic material from the food processing industry) into carbon-neutral market-ready drop-in jet fuels. A proof of concept on the synergetic coupling of biotechnological and thermocatalytic processing routes will be developed by employing a disruptive and interdisciplinary strategy. The project targets the efficient valorization of organic wastes into renewable jet fuel and maximizing the recovery of chemical energy, nutrients, and carbon use. In order to achieve this, the complex organic waste will be converted into platform molecules (acetoin and 2,3-butanediol).

Subsequently, a novel one-pot chemical process will be developed by combining different catalytic steps through which the platform molecules are converted to jet-fuel range hydrocarbons. Based on an extensive process flow modeling, the process efficiency and the techno-economic requirements for full market integration and the environmental impact will be assessed. Furthermore, to achieve the best environmental performance, efficient recovery of nutrients for reuse will be aimed throughout the process development. Therefore, BIOCTANE will establish a novel pathway involving hybrid processes and multifunctional catalysts, contributing to implementing sustainable, secure, and competitive renewable energy technologies in Europe, boosting the use of advanced biofuels, and with a direct impact on strategic areas like aviation transport.


News

  • New Team Member!

    New Team Member!

    We are exited to announce that Lucia Braga Nan has joined the BIOCTANE project! Lucia is an accomplished researcher with a B.Sc. specializing in microbiology and a master’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of the Republic in Uruguay. She earned her PhD at the AgroInstitut, Montpellier, with INRAE in Narbonne, France, focusing on the…

  • Scientific Workshop in Madrid

    Scientific Workshop in Madrid

    In October, we held our first Scientific Workshop at the facilities of our project partner IMDEA Energy in Madrid. It was a great success, with around 45 participants. The program featured numerous presentations, complemented by a scientific poster session by PhD students, a guided tour of IMDEA’s research facilities, and a shared lunch. Here is…

  • New Team Member

    New Team Member

    We are excited to welcome Xujun Li as a new team member of the BIOCTANE project! Xujun brings a strong academic and research background to the BIOCTANE project. After earning a PhD from Xi’an Jiaotong University in December 2023, Xujun expanded their expertise as a joint training student at Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany. Their work…

  • HE Cluster Meeting for aviation/maritime fuels and biomethane projects

    HE Cluster Meeting for aviation/maritime fuels and biomethane projects

    Prof. Patricia Pizarro, coordinator of the BIOCTANE project funded by the European Union, has participated in the HE Cluster Meeting for aviation/maritime fuels and biomethane projects organized and held  at CINEA (Brussels) last October 15. During that meeting,  there was the opportunity to receive information about relevant policy frameworks as well as to exchange and…

  • Scientific Workshop: Thermochemical conversion of biogenic waste to jet fuel

    The BIOCTANE Scientific Workshop will encompass a full day of lectures and poster presentationstailored for all who would like to learn more about thermochemical processes for the production ofrenewable fuels. The different lecture topics cover the full process chain, starting by the conversion of feedstock,such as biogenic wastes into platform molecules in the morning. The…

  • Webinar 6: Catalysis development for hydrothermal gasification

    Our most recent Webinar, with David Baudouin from Paul-Scherrer Institute is now online. Hydrothermal gasification is used within the BIOCTANE project, to process the dark fermentation residues for a full utilization of wet organic residues. In order to achieve this goal, PSI is developing catalysts which are selective towards the production of hydrogen but also…

  • Executive Board Meeting in Narbonne

    Executive Board Meeting in Narbonne

    We have just completed our bi-annual Executive Board Meeting 🎉 Recent advances and developments within each work package were reviewed and further steps decided upon ✅. Furthermore, we had the opportunity to visit the laboratories of INRAE Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l’Environnement and to engage in many social activities in the beautiful region of Narbonne.…

  • Webinar 5: Catalysts to convert acetoin and alcohols into jet fuels

    From now on, you can watch our latest webinar recording on our channel. On June 6th at 16:00 CEST our guests were Patricia Pizarro, Full Professor in Chemical Engineering at Rey Juan Carlos University and Senior Associate Researcher at IMDEA Energy Institute, and Gabriel Morales, Full Professor in Chemical Engineering, Rey Juan Carlos University.

  • Webinar 4: Biobased molecules from waste

    From now on, you can watch the recording of the webinar on Biobased molecules from waste. In the BIOCTANE process, Eric Trably, Research Director at INRAE – Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory carries out a dark fermentation step of the organic waste used as feedstock. This biomass will be fermented by a mixed microbial consortium under slightly…

  • Webinar 3: Biofilms on active substrata

    Our most recent webinar about Biofilms on active substrate is now available online! Prof. Johannes Gescher from the Lab of Technical Microbiology at TUHH presented a comprehensive overview of their activities and an overview about the current state of research: