The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) and the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) are planning a joint venture to build the Bio Base Asia Pilot Plant (BBAPP), a multi-purpose biorefinery pilot plant modeled after the successful Belgian plant. The plant will be located in the Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation (EECi) in Wangchan Valley, Rayong Province, Thailand. It will be the first of its kind in Thailand and the ASEAN countries. The pilot plant is currently under construction and will be fully operational in 2024.
The Belgian Bio Base Europe pilot plant enables the conversion of biomass (including crops and agricultural by-products, industrial by-streams) into biochemicals, biomaterials, biofuels, and other bioproducts through the use of technologies such as biomass pretreatment, biocatalysis, (gas) fermentation, green chemistry, and product recovery and purification. Thailand is one of the largest producers and exporters of sugarcane, cassava, oil palm, and many other agricultural products. More than 40 million tons of biomass are currently unused. This gap provides ample opportunity for biorefinery technologies.
The Bio Base Asia Pilot Plant consists of two separate pilot plants: A non-GMP plant serves industries producing biochemicals, biomaterials, and other relevant bioproducts. A GMP plant focuses on food, feed, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals applications. Services broadly include biomass pretreatment, industrial biotechnology (microbial fermentation and biocatalysis), green chemistry, and downstream processing to transform low-value biomass feedstock into a wide range of high-value bioproducts.
BBEPP is providing the expertise, technologies, and its business model. NSTDA, with the help of the Thai government, is financing the investment in the plant and equipment and is contributing its existing platform for developing biobased processes and products and its customer base.
- Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP), Desteldong (Gent), Belgium
- National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Khlong Neung, Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, Thailand
