The concept is simple to say, if anything it was difficult to put it into practice. But it is now possible to extract bio-oil from lignin to make it a new fuel for the future. All this thanks to Davide Moscatelli, chemical engineer of the Polytechnic of Milan, who patented the extraction process and who at the end of October was awarded at the Quirinale by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, during the 16th edition of the Eni Awards. International awards for research in the energy and environmental sectors, designed to promote cutting-edge solutions in the efficiency and sustainable production of energy, with a view to decarbonisation and environmental protection.
Moscatelli, born in Aresi in 1978, together with Edoardo Terreni – a doctoral student from Parabiago and in turn recipient of the recognition – has developed a system for extracting a bio-oil from lignin, the second most present polymer in nature and waste material in industrial processes . Separated from cellulose, used primarily in the packaging industry, the bio-oil obtained from lignin today finds a new use in combustion engines. Cars, planes and ships can thus cross a new frontier of fuel supply, with everything connected to it in economic, political and environmental terms. And offering a different path compared to the production dead ends represented, for example, by electricity. Moscatelli, associate professor since 2014 and full professor of applied physical chemistry since 2018, explains: «This bio-oil is a liquid fuel compatible with the engines we know and which can be used first and foremost on ship engines, by far the most polluting, given the type of fuels used. The idea of Eni, which financed the project, was precisely to start from a waste product to obtain one with high added value.” The process of extracting bio-oil from lignin is already opening up further avenues for other plant wastes: the idea of creating a liquid fuel from the by-products of a corn field, for example, is already within reach.
«With the extraction of the bio-oil we wanted to prefigure a more noble use for a substance intended only for combustion: the carbon impact of this substance, moreover, is nil». Of course, it’s a long way from here to filling up with bio-oil at the petrol pump. But laboratory results have shown that there is a non-polluting alternative to oil and electricity. And Eni «has demonstrated that research can be done in Italy. Even medium-small industries can find a research center in universities, also making a profit.
There are two more patents on the horizon, again applied to the concept of agricultural waste”, concludes Moscatelli. «The doctoral students who develop these studies, among other things, also represent important resources for companies in terms of know-how, as well as a strong incentive to invest in research».