Clariant opens Sunliquid plant

Clariant has announced the official completion of its first commercial-scale Sunliquid plant in Podari, Romania. This will be operational during Q4 and will produce about 50,000 tonnes/year of “almost carbon-neutral” cellulosic ethanol from 250,000 tonnes/year of agricultural residues sourced in the vicinity.

In addition to its main application in fuel blending, the company said, “this offers further downstream application opportunities into bio-based chemicals and for sustainable aviation fuel”. Co-products generated by the process will be used for the generation of renewable energy, making the plant independent of fossil energy sources.

“This technology represents a major milestone for Clariant and is a further proof point for our ambitious growth strategy, led by innovations that contribute to a more sustainable world,” said CEO Conrad Keijzer.

Clariant first developed Sunliquid in 2006 and implemented it in a pre-commercial plant in 2012, but it has chosen to go down the licensing route rather than build facilities across the world. To date, five technology licences have been sold in Europe and China.