The aim of this research is to find more effective ways to produce power in a sustainable way and strive to develop new methods and technical solutions that support and promote the transition towards sustainable production and energy supply. Biomass is central to this scope and it is also largely available in countries like Finland. It is considered a renewable and sustainable energy source with neutral carbon emission and the fourth energy source in the world, its uses for transportation and electricity generation are growing in developing countries. Our laboratory is investigating a more efficient way of processing lignocellulosic biomass and separating lignin with no inhibition residues. Integrating Supercritical Water Gasification (SCWG), Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL), and Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of lignin can improve the profitability of second-generation biofuels production, bioethanol is one of them. I am going to work on the novel process integration studies designed to evaluate optimal operating conditions for a successful implementation of these novel biorefinery concepts. There are several investigations on Supercritical Water Gasification (SCWG), Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL), Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), and methanation for biomass treatment. Furthermore, our group has investigated additional technologies like partial wet oxidation in what we have proposed as a new biorefinery concept. However, because of the complex composition of biomass and its behavior during the process, there is a lack of information in this regard. More importantly, for utilizing these processes in the industry more investigation should be conducted specifically there is a need to innovate existing processes and this is now more important than ever since the COVID pandemic has caused severe damages to the economy in Finland.

2022