Biochemicals are produced from renewable material instead of fossil resources. Today, most common used raw materials are starch, sugar or vegetable oils, in the near future other forms of biomass like cellulose will gain importance.
Complete process technology
The conversion of natural raw materials into biochemicals is most commonly carried out by fermentation or enzymatic reaction, rather than by chemical reaction.
GEA offers a full range of process technologies for the biochemical production chain, including:
- Fermentation equipment
- Separation centrifuges
- Membrane filtration
- Distillation
- Melt crystallization
- Evaporation
- Crystallization
- Drying
Meeting the challenges of the bio-industries
People have been producing chemicals from biomass for many more years than they have been producing chemicals from fossil oils or coals. For centuries we have been producing many feed and food ingredients, such as citric acid or amino-acids, by fermentation, which has completely superseded chemical synthesis routes. Growing awareness of dwindling fossil resources has in addition led to the development of new products and processes for generating chemicals. As a result, the production of fuels, such as fuel-ethanol and biodiesel, from biomass has become an established industry.
GEA has significance experience and many examples of installations in the bio-industries sector. We also offer complete process plants for the production of modern fuels and biochemicals.
We are also actively engaged in research focused on the development of innovative biotech products in areas such as the production of bioplastics and substitutes for petrochemicals.
For example, petroleum-based oleochemicals have traditionally been used for applications in such as surfactants, personal care, soaps, detergents and food additives. This is now changing, as newly emerging technologies are allowing bio-oleochemicals to replace petroleum-based products. GEA offers complete process plants for the production of these modern fuels and biochemicals.
Commercial application of the latest advances in industrial biotechnology requires equally advanced capabilities and solutions in process technology. One major challenge is the successful upscaling of test processes to industrial scale. GEA provides development centers and pilot equipment to support such developments. We can also address challenges such as combining different process steps in plant design, and enabling reliable quality control on an industrial scale.
The expertise and experience of our highly experienced process technology specialists, combined with our range of state-of-the-art equipment and technology, make us the go-to partner for biochemicals production.
Applications
Products & Technologies
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Aseptic valves & components
Aseptic valves face exceptionally high demands within UltraClean and Aseptic processes. You can be assured that they all provide highest quality in terms of hygienic design and sustainability.
Batch Distillation Plants
Batch operated units allow the distillation and rectification of diverse products or multiple component mixtures in one unit. It´s the multi-tasking-master in distillation applications.
Centrifugal Separator
GEA separators are designed for liquid-based applications. Using centrifugal force, they are used for separating suspensions consisting of two or more phases of different densities, i.e. they can be used for liquid-liquid separation, for liquid-liquid-solid separation or for liquid-solid separation. They are equally as effective at separating liq...
Cooling, quenching & conditioning
The Rapid Cooling or Quenching of gas streams is used in several essential applications in the process industries.
From aspiration to profitability: producing biochemicals by biorefinery
Making bioplastics more mainstream
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GEA Insights
Smart, stylish, circular: polycotton recycling with Circ
Resource-efficient fashion has been a long-sought ambition amid the fashion industry’s considerable contributions to global carbon emissions. The need to close the loop by recycling textile fibers into virgin-like materials is higher than ever but seemed like a distant dream until now: Circ, GEA’s American customer and pioneer in the field of textile recycling, might be rewriting the future of the fashion industry.
New food tipping point
Alternative proteins are promising – yet still expensive to produce. The usual response is that scaling up will solve this issue. But what if the solution was really about getting better, not just bigger? From more efficient, high-yield processes to upcycling waste heat, engineers are reshaping how we grow food.
A safer way to produce cancer treatments
As anti-cancer drugs become more powerful and complex, GEA is redefining how to safely freeze-dry these life-saving treatments.
