Pilot Algal Lipid Manufacturing in the United Kingdom (PALM-UK)

A biorefinery uses biomass rather than crude oil to produce energy or chemicals. The term 'biorefinery'

is routinely articulated in IB circles, but the concept has, as yet, never been fully realised. The objective

of this project is to generate robust process economics for a fully-fledged biorefinery that will not just

break even but moreover prove highly profitable. If successful, the project will then generate £24.5m

investment from the Malaysian Govt. to realise the technology at scale. The project will involve

functionalising microalgae to produce a range of products that can be separated using a low-cost

continuous flow downstream processing system. It is innovative in that it will marry the best aspects of

the conventional oil refinery (100% feedstock utilisation & high throughputs) with the best aspects of IB

(functional complexity and environmentally benign processing).