2025 Study Tour - Progress in waste management for energy and chemicals

2025 Study Tour

This study tour offers industry players and policy makers an unique opportunity to visit several interesting locations such as the Axens factory in Dunkirk with FT production. This trip is intended for anyone who may be interested in being informed on the state-of-the-art waste management processes and technologies. Find below the state of the art facilities to be visited.

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Visits of 7 state of the art facilities  included in the tour

• DRANCO - waste fermentation plant at Beerse (Belgium)

The DRANCO plant in Beerse (Belgium) is operated by IOK Afvalbeheer local waste MSW company and currently produces renewable bioenergy in two ways: 75% of the biogas is converted in a CHP into heat and electricity that also is reused by the biogas plant and the biogas upgrading system and 25% of the biogas is converted to biomethane for injection into the national gas grid. The plant has a capacity of 35,000 tons of biowaste.

• TripleW’s Flagship Circulac® Facility at the Port of Antwerp (Belgium)

TripleW’s Port of Antwerp Flagship Project (acronym: FUTURE) aims to build and operate a lactic acid production installation in the NextGen District, Port of Antwerp-Bruges (Belgium), introducing groundbreaking technology to convert food waste into high-purity lactic acid (LA), which could be used to produce polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable bioplastic. By utilizing food waste instead of food crops as feedstock the flagship contributes to the decarbonization of food waste.

• LanzaTech/ArcelorMittal - biomass gasification and liquid fermentation for ethanol at Gent (Belgium)

ArcelorMittal’s Steelanol facility is converting carbon-rich industrial emissions from its blast furnace into fuel-grade ethanol by using leading carbon recycling technology developed by LanzaTech. Ethanol production commenced in 2023, and the facility is a first-of-its-kind for the European steel industry. The produced ethanol can be sold directly into fuel markets or further purified or converted for use in a wide array of consumer products such as apparel, personal care, and packaging. ArcelorMittal commissioned a first for the European steel industry to convert waste wood into bio-coal to reduce fossil coal consumption at its steel plant in Ghent, Belgium.

• Terra Mater Pilot Plant for specialty alcohols and SAF at Kluizendok in the Ghent section of the port area (Belgium)

The company has been testing its 2X Alcohol-to-Jet technology at a pilot plant at the Kluizendok in the Ghent section of the port area. This technology enables the conversion of various waste streams and alcohols into sustainable jet fuel and basic chemicals, which are utilized in green applications. Terra Mater is now prepared to scale up production.

• AXENS/TotalEnergies/IFP Energies Nouvelles - BioTFuel plant for Fischer-Tropsch Sustainable Aviation Fuel at Dunkirk (France) 

The demonstration plant applies the gasification technology and purification of the syngas produced to be followed by Fischer-Tropsch catalytic synthesis. The plant is located at a site provided by TotalEnergies close to their Flanders facility, near Dunkirk. It was used to test the adaptation of gasification technology to biomass treatment, on a scale of around 3 t/h of feed. The plant uses torrefied wood as feedstock.

• PRODEVAL France’s largest industrial biomethane site, using refining oils as feedstock at Dunkirk (France)

This is the largest industrial biomethane site in France, which utilizes refining oils as a feedstock and features both a VALOPUR (upgrading to biomethane) and V'COOL unit (producing liquified biomethane). The facility produces biomethane from waste streams from the refining process,and employing advanced purification and cooling technologies.

• AXENS FUTUROL demonstration plant for cellulosic ethanol at Pomacle (France)

The demonstration plant set up in 2011 validated the cellulosic ethanol technology on a scale of 1 tonne of biomass per day. The demo plant is a small-scale version of a complete advanced ethanol production plant, from biomass preparation right through to final distillation. Several types of biomasses have been tested successfully.

Programme

Sunday 14:

Arrival and stay at the hotel in Brussels

Monday 15:

09.00- 11.00 Get-to-know workshop at hotel in Brussels, discussions, planning.

11.00-13.00 Depart Brussels to Beerse, lunch box in the coach.

13.00-17.00 Visit the Dranco facility, waste to biogas and biomethane.

17.00-18.00 Depart to Antwerp; arrive at hotel and dinner in Antwerp

Tuesday 16:

09.00-12.30 Visit the TripleW’s Flagship project

12.30-14.00 Depart to Gent, lunch box in the coach, arrive at ArcelorMittal

14.00-18.00 Visit the Lanzatech gasification/gas fermentation plant at ArcelorMittal.

18.00-18.30 Depart to Gent, arrive at hotel and dinner in Gent

Wednesday 17:

09.00-11.00 Visit the Terra Mater pilot plant

11.00-13.00 Drive to industrial area of Dunkirk, lunch box in the coach.

13.00-17.30 Visit the Axens biomass gasification to Fischer Tropsch plant.

17.30-18.00 Drive to Dunkirk, arrive at hotel and dinner in Dunkirk

Thursday 18:

09.00-13.00 Visit the Prodeval Anaerobic digestion plant,

13.00-16.30 Drive to Pomacle, arrive at hotel and dinner in Pomache

Friday 19:

09.00-12.00 Visit the Axens Futurol cellulosic ethanol plant

12.00-14.30 Drive to Brussels, lunch box in the coach, arrive at hotel in Brussels, dinner in Brussels

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Registration fee

This tour registration fee is fixed at 3300€. This includes hotel accommodation in Brussels on Sunday 14 September, as well as Friday 19 September and includes all accommodation while on the Study Tour, food and catering, and transport in coach. Please note that alcoholic drinks are not included.

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Registration

If you would like to confirm your registration to the Study Tour please send personally to the undersigned and Mr Konstantinos Moustakas (konmoust@central.ntua.gr)the following information:

Name & Surname:

ID or Passport N°:

Country of origin:

Company/Organisation:

Dietary requirements:

Yes, I would like to register for the 2025 Study Tour

I hereby confirm that I will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) if I will so be requested by one of the hosts of the visits.

I will adhere to the Code of Conduct of the 2025 Study Tour which I acknowledge I have received it.

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