The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, its main objective is to develop and promote research that will help bring about scientific and technological progress. CSIC plays an important role in scientific and technological policy, since it encompasses an area that takes in everything from basic research to the transfer of knowledge to the productive sector. Its research is driven by its centres and institutes, which are spread across Spain, and its more than 15,000 staff, with more than 3,000 staff researchers and the same number of doctors and scientists who are still training. CSIC has 6% of all the staff dedicated to Research and Development in Spain, and they generate approximately 20% of all scientific production in the country.
There will be two research groups directly involved in the project. The Environmental Research Group belongs to ‘Instituto de Carboquímica’ (ICB) that is located in Zaragoza. It is comprised of 5 staff researchers, 2 post-docs and several post and under graduated students. This group has a broad experience in the field of CO2 capture by using Ca-based sorbents and in the development of thermochemical processes like gasification and pyrolysis. The group has participated in several EU projects (Agapute, CaOling, ReCal, Ascent, etc) all of them related with CO2 capture by Ca-looping or the thermochemical conversion of biomass and fossil fuels.
The Group for Energy and Sustainable Chemistry from the ‘Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica’ (ICP) of CSIC is located in Madrid. It comprises 10 staff researchers, 5 postdoc students and several PhD and Master students. It has a long experience in the field of applied and basic catalysis (heterogeneous, homogeneous, electrocatalysis and photocatalysis) and catalytic process for clean energy and sustainable chemistry. In particular, it has a great deal of experience in the field of C1 chemistry, including H2 production from CH4 and syngas transformation into hydrocarbons (liquid fuels, short chain olefins…) and/or oxygenates (methanol, DME etc). The group has participated in several EU and National projects related with these topics.
CSIC website – CSIC-ICB website – CSIC-ICP website
Role in FLEDGED
CSIC will lead activities devoted to the basic research of the sorption enhanced gasification process and the enhanced production of DME. CSIC contribution will be mainly focused on an experimental approach of both processes by using the existing pilot plants (TRL 4 and lab-scale). In addition, all the feedstocks that will be used in the project will be also analyzed at CSIC.
CSIC will also be involved in the process modelling: a simple model to simulate the bubbling fluidized bed reactor will be developed and validated with the experimental results that will be produced early in the project. Finally, CSIC will be involved in the physicochemical characterization of the used catalysts.
