A Centre of Excellence in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Technology

Description of impact

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) is a highly selective and versatile solvent which has been used for many years in commercial extraction processes. Whilst there are active worldwide SC-CO2 research programmes at laboratory scale and many examples of commercial processes utilsing SC-CO2, Bangor University identified an important and unfulfilled area for development; the research and development of pilot scale processes using SC-CO2. There are very few centres of excellence in Europe with access to pilot scale SC-CO2 equipment and through a programme of research grant capture between 2010-2013, totalling ~ £750,000, Bangor University was able to secure phased investment for laboratory and pilot scale equipment, associated pre-treatment and analytical equipment and scientific expertise in SC-CO2 technology, to deliver the planned programme of activity. The CO2 LAB at Bangor University was established in January 2013, employing up to five members of contract-research staff. The CO2 Lab was spun-out in 2016, to form a new company- Suprex Ltd. Suprex is a joint venture between Bangor University and Phytovation Ltd, and has created four new jobs and the value of company around £0.5M. Bangor University’s CO2 Lab and Suprex have collaborated with ?? companies since 2011, across a wide range of industry sectors from personal care/ cosmetics, food and speciality/ fine chemicals. Industrial collaborators have included Coda, Unilever, Dow Chemicals and Boots Ltd. The CO2 LAB at Bangor University was a shortlisted finalist in the 2014 S-lab awards and one of six entrants in the ‘New Product’ category. The S-Lab Awards for Excellence is an international programme which was initiated in 2012 and which recognizes innovation in laboratory design, management and operationSupercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) is a highly selective and versatile solvent which has been used for many years in commercial extraction processes. Whilst there are active worldwide SC-CO2 research programmes at laboratory scale and many examples of commercial processes utilsing SC-CO2, Bangor University identified an important and unfulfilled area for development; the research and development of pilot scale processes using SC-CO2. There are very few centres of excellence in Europe with access to pilot scale SC-CO2 equipment and through a programme of research grant capture between 2010-2013, totalling ~ £750,000, Bangor University was able to secure phased investment for laboratory and pilot scale equipment, associated pre-treatment and analytical equipment and scientific expertise in SC-CO2 technology, to deliver the planned programme of activity. The CO2 LAB at Bangor University was established in January 2013, employing up to five members of contract-research staff. The CO2 Lab was spun-out in 2016, to form a new company- Suprex Ltd. Suprex is a joint venture between Bangor University and Phytovation Ltd, and has created four new jobs and the value of company around £0.5M. Bangor University’s CO2 Lab and Suprex have collaborated with ?? companies since 2011, across a wide range of industry sectors from personal care/ cosmetics, food and speciality/ fine chemicals. Industrial collaborators have included Coda, Unilever, Dow Chemicals and Boots Ltd. The CO2 LAB at Bangor University was a shortlisted finalist in the 2014 S-lab awards and one of six entrants in the ‘New Product’ category. The S-Lab Awards for Excellence is an international programme which was initiated in 2012 and which recognizes innovation in laboratory design, management and operation

Description of the underpinning research

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) is a highly selective and versatile solvent which has been used for many years in commercial extraction processes. Examples of processes utilizing SC-CO2 includes the decaffeination of coffee, the defatting of foodstuffs such as crisps and cocoa powder, the extraction of essential oils and bioactive molecules from plants, for a range of end-use applications from cosmetics, pigments and dyes, food ingredients (herb and spice extraction) to active pharmaceutical compounds, surfactants and the synthesis of flavour and aroma molecules using biocatalysts . SC-CO2 offers a sustainable alternative to conventional, fossil fuel derived organic solvents and the carbon dioxide used in these processes is a by-product of the brewing, biofuels and chemicals sector. There are a number of benefits to using SC-CO2 as an alternative solvent, including: • Non-toxic, non-flammable, recyclable, odourless and tasteless • More efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional organic solvents • Comparable or lower operating costs and energy requirements than conventional solvent extraction processes • Extraction conditions can be optimised by varying the solvent polarity through adjustments to temperature and pressure • Low temperature and pressures generally used for processing ensure that neither theextracts or residual material are degraded during the procedure • Solvent free process with the potential to recycle the CO2 for continued reuse • Extraction using CO2 is a certified process and extracts can be used in organic products Whilst there are active, worldwide SC-CO2 research programmes at laboratory scale and many examples of commercial processes utilsing SC-CO2, Bangor University identified an important and unfulfilled area for development; the research and development of pilot scale processes using SC-CO2. There are very few centres of excellence in Europe with access to pilot scale SC-CO2 equipment, and which can bridge the gap between laboratory research and commercialisation. Through a programme of research grant capture between 2011-2013, totalling ~ £750,000, Bangor University was able to secure phased investment for laboratory and pilot scale equipment, associated pre-treatment and analytical equipment and scientific expertise in SC-CO2 technology to deliver the planned programme of activity. This investment in equipment, infrastructure and staff enabled Bangor University to develop processes from a few milligrammes, up to multi-kilogramme batches and with support from ongoing, complimentary biorefining research funded by the European Regional Development funded BEACON programme (www.beaconwales.org) at Bangor University, created a unique facility in Europe. Initial funding through the Welsh Government’s CIRP (Collaborative Industrial Research Programme, Grant ref. HE 06 COL 1013, 2010-2012) facilitated investment in staff and lab scale equipment to initiate a research programme using SC-CO2 technology. The project was a collaboration with a number of Welsh SMEs including Alzeim Ltd. (Talgarth, Powys), Miro Omega-3 Ltd. (Brynford, Flintshire) and Phytovation Ltd (Caernarfon, Gwynedd), Porvair Ltd (Wrexham) and Agrisense Ltd (Pontypridd), investigating a diverse range of application areas using this technology. These included the extraction of speciality chemicals from different marine and terrestrial biomass feedstocks (including daffodils, microalgae and senna) for applications in the pharmacueticals, nutraceuticals, cosmetics/ personal care and pest control sectors, along with the application of this technology for removing contaminants from plastics. The CIRP project developed a range of laboratory scale protocols for extraction and processing and in parallel, additional capital funding was secured from Welsh Government to purchase pilot scale processing and extraction equipment (Grant ref. HE 06 IAP 1001, 2011), to facilitate larger scale R&D activities. The scale and operational flexibility of the equipment purchased through this capital grant enabled Bangor University to establish a unique facility in the UK, with very few competing offerings available throughout Europe and offering process development from a few grammes through to multi-kilogramme batches of material. The CO2 LAB at Bangor University was launched in January 2013 (see attached press release), employed five research staff between 2013-2016 and collaborated with over 50 companies through both grant funded collaborative R&D projects and contract research work. In 2013, a multi-disciplinary project (STARS- Grant ref no. HE06 COL 1024) was funded through the Welsh Government’s A4B scheme. The £600,000 joint programme was led by the BioComposites Centre at Bangor University, in collaboration with IBERS at Aberystwyth University and seven companies, including Boots Ltd and Chemoxy International Ltd (formerly Dow Chemicals) and Waitrose Ltd. The project investigated the valorisation of grass produced in the UK, to produce a range of products including speciality chemicals for the nutraeuticals sector, fuels, fibre based packaging for fresh produce packaging and natural colourants. The STARS project facilitated further investment in the laboratory and pilot scale capability located in The CO2 LAB, including additional analytical, mechanical pre-processing and molecular distillation equipment.

Impact status	Ongoing
Impact date	2011
Category of impact	Technological