Chemistry from renewables

Industrial bioethanol production at the Crescentino plant is based on the PROESA® proprietary technology, one of the most innovative in the biomass chemistry sector.

We use PROESA® technology to produce bioethanol from the fermentation of second-generation sugars from biomass. The difference with first-generation processes is that in the latter, the biomass is constituted by food products such as beet, maize or sugar cane, crops from which sugar is extracted and then fermented into bioethanol with yeasts.

With PROESA®, we use non-food and waste biomass. Here, the cellulose and hemicellulose molecules bound with lignin in the biomass are extracted and reduced to sugars through the action of enzymes that cut through these long molecules; only this innovative physical and biochemical process is able to produce sugars which, like those from food crops, can be fermented with yeasts and turned into bioethanol.

With this innovative proprietary technology, through an exclusively physical and biochemical process:

• we produce second-generation (2G) sugars which, like those from food crops, can be fermented with yeasts to bioethanol 
• we expose the lignocellulosic biomass to a series of thermal and mechanical actions in the pre-treatment section in order to break it down and facilitate the task of the enzymes which cut through the long chains of cellulose and hemicellulose it contains to obtain simple sugars: glucose and xylose
• we transform glucose and xylose into bioethanol through fermentation with specific yeasts
• lastly, we separate bioethanol from water and lignin in the distillation section, where we obtain the desired degree of purity for its use as a renewable fuel in a blend with petrol

Recently, Versalis has acquired from DSM - a global, purpose-led company in Health, Nutrition & Bioscience- the technology to produce enzymes for second-generation ethanol which integrates with proprietary PROESA® technology, improving the competitiveness of technology and production.

Enzymes are essential to produce second-generation sugars as they allow the saccharification of biomass. These sugars are then transformed, through fermentation processes, into cellulosic ethanol - “advanced bioethanol” - or into other chemical intermediates. Bioethanol, produced through PROESA® technology, is used for the formulation of petrol with a renewable component. 

The acquisition of this technology strengthens Versalis' position as a leader in chemistry from renewable sources and bolsters the path towards decarbonization for the company.

DSM enzymes have already been successfully tested at Versalis research centers for their use in conjunction with the proprietary PROESA® technology.