Progress Towards Commercialization of Lignocellulosic Ethanol Processes
ID: 3492

Abstract: The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 calls for the blending of at least 36 billion gallons of biofuels in 2022. The Act mandates that cellulosic biofuels are to contribute 16 of the 36 billion gallons by 2022 with 100 million gallons by 2010. A number of companies have announced plans to build and operate pilot and demonstration facilities in the United States to validate proprietary cellulosic technologies at scale. Verenium completed construction of a 1.4 MM gal/yr facility in mid 2008 and has been in the process of commissioning the plant. Both Dupont/Danisco and Mascoma have announced plans to construct large scale facilities to be completed in 2009. This panel will describe and discuss progress towards completion of pilot and demonstration plants and commercialization efforts in order to achieve the targets set forth in the EISA of 2007.



Georg Anderl

The commercialization of cellulosic ethanol has been promised for decades. With legacy investments in technology by its parent companies, DDCE is well on its way to demonstrating a cost competitive integrated solution. This presentation will review the technical challenges and report on progress to date on the integration and optimization of the technology in the context of the overall value chain. It will also report on the innovations in business models and collaborations that will mitigate the commercial risk of pioneer deployment.



Andre Koltermann

Due to the growing shortage of fossil resources and the increasing demand for climate-friendly technologies, the generation of products from cellulosic plant raw materials is becoming more and more important to the industry. To overcome the “food-or-fuel” discussions, the use of non-food renewable resources, like wheat straw, corn stover or bagasse is indispensable.

The development of sustainable, economically competitive and climate-friendly system solutions, based on Süd-Chemie’s technology platforms biotechnology, catalysis and adsorber, is a very attractive market for Süd-Chemie and of important strategic interest.

As an example, one third of the gasoline consumption in the EU could be already replaced with bioethanol generated from the unused straw surplus without any competition to food, land or other resources. By adding advanced conversion technologies, other renewable feedstocks, the reallocation of grass- to cropland as well as the activation of idle agricultural land a sustainable self-sufficiency of fuels might be possible.

Süd-Chemie has prioritized the use of lignocellulosic feedstock at a new strategic research and development site, focussing the combination of existing processes from former years with state-of-the-art technology. Together with Linde, a world-wide leading engineering company in biotechnological and chemical plants, we build a unique strategic alliance for the development of second generation biofuels.

In our presentation, we will give an overview over the present status of our lignocellulosic bioethanol project.











Moderator: Nelson Barton, Verenium Corporation (United States)

Presenter 1: Demonstration Plant Scale Ethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass
Nelson Barton, Verenium Corporation, (United States)  [Confirmed]

Presenter 2: Development and Commercialization of Consolidated Bioprocess (CBP) Technology for Cellulosic Ethanol Production 
James Flatt, Mascoma Corporation, (United States)  [Confirmed]

Presenter 3: Total Value Chain Commercialization: From Farm to Fuel 
Georg Anderl, Dupont/Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC, (United States)  [Confirmed]

Presenter 4 (if necessary): Second Generation Bioethanol: Challenges and Perspectives 
Andre Koltermann, Süd-Chemie AG, (Germany)  [Confirmed]

Panel Organizer:
Kevin Gray, Qteros, (United States)

Why should your submission should be selected for this year’s program?
In order to reach the very aggressive cellulosic biofuels targets as defined by the EISA 2007 industry must begin scale-up and planning for commercial facilities. A number of challenges will be faced in the scale-up process that will only be seen when the technology moves from the laboratory into the plant. The three companies on this panel each have been developing distinct technologies and are in quite advanced stages of commercialization. The speakers will describe progress towards achievement of economic production of cellulosic ethanol using proprietary technologies.