New Welsh centre offers grass roots approach to biotechnology
21 May 2012
Aberystwyth, UK – Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) has opened a £20-million biorefining centre. The facility will help businesses develop ways to turn locally grown plant crops, such as rye grass, oats and miscanthus, into products such as fuel and cosmetics.
The £20 million BEACON Biorefining Centre has been developed in collaboration with partners in the Universities of Bangor and Swansea. It has been backed by £10.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government.
The Centre combines various biorefining technologies and expertise, houses pilot scale equipment. It includes an integrated wet feedstock processing line, pasteuriser and membrane filtration pilot plants utilising ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis technologies for processes including fractionation, concentration, clarification and water conservation.
The facility was designed and built by Axium Process, which specialises in the design and build of customised membrane filtration systems and has expertise in the concentration and separation of liquid streams.
