Welcome to our Q&A series, where our exceptional team addresses key questions about the NIAGARA project: its innovations in advanced biofuels, scientific and technological breakthroughs, and its transformative impact on the European Union’s energy landscape.
Today, we speak with Giuseppe Pipitone, tenure track researcher from Politecnico di Torino (POLITO).
How do you believe the NIAGARA project contributes to advancing the development and adoption of sustainable biofuels?
“NIAGARA can play a role in the European research scenario because it tackles the different challenges which are present in the biofuel production field by combining complementary expertise. It contributes to ensure a robust supply chain of the feedstock, both employing waste and microalgae grown on NIAGARA’s waste streams, favouring a circular concept. Moreover, it creates synergies between multiple technologies, like hydrothermal carbonization, aqueous phase reforming and gasification, to maximize the carbon exploitation. And, finally, it answers to the need of the end-user by employing the advanced gaseous biofuel in a fuel cell.”
What industries or sectors could benefit the most from the results of NIAGARA’s work??
“NIAGARA can have a strong impact on multiples sectors. It can surely provide new insights to the scientific community for groundbreaking research, thanks to the advancements in the state of the art (e.g., the production of carbohydrate-rich microalgae, the syngas cleaning process). It provides innovative valorisation pathways to wastewater treatment plants, fertilizer-producing companies and CO2-emitting industries. Furthermore, it contributes to engage the general public on sustainability-related themes.”
What unique expertise does POLITO bring to the NIAGARA consortium, and how does this enhance the project’s impact?
“Thanks to the work carried out by POLITO, a valorisation pathway for the aqueous stream is envisioned. We employ aqueous phase reforming, an innovative catalytic process investigated in our laboratories in the last years, with a double goal: on one side, cleaning the wastewater derived from the hydrothermal carbonization to guarantee an efficient recycling for the growth of microalgae; on the other side, producing hydrogen and alkanes to further increase the energy efficiency of the whole process.”
What role do advanced biofuels play in reducing the EU’s carbon footprint, and how does NIAGARA accelerate this process?
“NIAGARA answers to an urgent need of our society, that is finding sustainable alternatives to our dependency from fossil fuels. By developing alternative technologies, such as the ones proposed in NIAGARA, where the emitted CO2 is further valorised to produce the necessary biomass, we contribute to the development of an environmental-friendly circular economy with the potential to become carbon negative.”
Stay tuned as we continue exploring the groundbreaking work of the NIAGARA project in upcoming articles.
