Thermochemical and Biochemical Platforms
ID: 3927

Abstract: Johan van Groenestijn

At least 10 different processes exist to convert lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. There is no clear winner yet. We have evaluated four methods: (1) thermal mild acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, (2) two stage dilute acid pretreatment and hydrolysis, (3) concentrated acid pretreatment and hydrolysis and (4) alkaline pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. The methods were compared using wheat straw, corn stover, willow wood and bagasse as feedstock and monitored on the yield of monosaccharides, production of by-products (e.g. furfural, HMF and acetic acid) and fermentability in ethanol, lactic acid and biogas fermentations. Remaining bottle necks in each method were identified. Hydrolysis after alkaline pretreatment required larger amounts of enzymes or long reaction times which gives room to bacterial contamination. In methods in which large amounts of sulfuric acid are added (2,3) the acids should be recovered and not wasted as gypsum. Two different recovery methods were developed successfully. Although thermal mild acid pretreatment (1) does not require much acid addition, the delignified material contains many by-products and needs (expensive) enzymes for further hydrolysis. The method seems in particular promising as a pretreatment step for biogas (methane) fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass, in which no additional enzymes need to be added and in which by-products are converted into biogas. This study will be extended with steam explosion and ammonia fiber explosion, thus creating a broad lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment platform for the generation of fermentable sugars.



Randy Cortright

Virent Energy Systems, Inc. has discovered and is developing processing technologies that generate high-energy hydrocarbon mixtures from food and non-food plant sugars. Virent’s BioForming® process uses catalytic processing technologies similar to what is used in today’s petroleum refineries that generate liquid fuels from crude oil. However, instead of using crude oil as a feedstock, Virent’s BioForming® process uses biomass-derived sugars to generate hydrocarbon mixtures that can be either directly used or seamlessly blended to make conventional liquid fuels and chemicals. The BioForming® process takes advantage of Virent’s patented aqueous phase reforming (APR) technology that converts sugars into hydrogen and chemical intermediates. The resulting chemical intermediates are then processed into gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel components using one of multiple catalytic routes available. Unlike ethanol production which requires a specific type of sugar feedstock, requires significant processing energy, and generates a single molecule with limited utility, the BioForming technology can process a large variety of biomass feed-stocks, utilizing low-energy separation technologies, and can generate an array of products for use in different transportation fuels and chemicals. Preliminary economic analysis suggests that converting sugars to conventional liquid fuels using Virent’s BioForming process can economically compete with petroleum fuels at crude oil prices greater than $60/bbl. In sum, the BioForming process broadens the range of viable feedstocks, provides significant net energy benefits, and produces fuels compatible with today’s engines and pipeline infrastructure.



William Roe

Bill Roe, President and CEO of Coskata, can contribute to the Sixth Annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing by discussing the syngas-to-ethanol platform, the economic and environmental advantages of feedstock flexible processes, and the licensing and partnership model in context of today’s project financing options for bioprocesses. He can also provide an update on Coskata’s progress in scaling to deliver ethanol to consumers at one of the lowest cellulosic ethanol production cost targets in the industry.

Coskata utilizes proprietary microorganisms and patented bioreactor designs in a syngas-to-ethanol process that will enable the company to efficiently and affordably produce next generation ethanol anywhere in the world, from a wide variety of input materials. Bill can discuss the technology behind Coskata’s non-enzymatic process, which is currently producing ethanol at pilot scale just outside of Chicago in the company’s Warrenville, IL. headquarters. He can explain the process including the gasification phase which converts feedstock material into syngas, the biofermentation phase where the microorganisms digest the syngas and excrete ethanol, and the distillation phase which captures the ethanol.

The company’s technology offers both feedstock flexibility and the freedom to locate near abundantly available input materials, serving to localize ethanol production and lessen fuel transportation requirements.

The discussion will cover the economic and environmental advantages of a feedstock flexible process. These include enabling the construction of plants around the globe, helping to localize ethanol production and create new jobs, and utilizing a wide variety of feedstocks including municipal waste and trash, agricultural waste, bagasse and other biomass to address food-for-fuel concerns.

Bill can cite efficiency and GHG emissions data, as Coskata’s next-generation ethanol production process is environmentally superior to competing processes, reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 96% compared to conventional gasoline and producing up to 7.7 times more energy than what is used in making the ethanol, as verified by Argonne National Labs. Coskata microorganisms can extract almost the entire energy value available in the incoming syngas stream, producing more than 100 gallons of ethanol per dry ton of input material.

Bill can also present on business development in reference to Coskata’s partnership and licensing model. The unique nature of this bioprocessing technology lends itself to a model where corporate partners can provide capital or utilize existing infrastructure to finance an ethanol production facility, or license the technology to help utilize on-site byproducts and convert them to next-generation ethanol to create new revenue streams. Bill can elaborate on how this model fits into the overall scope of obtaining project financing in new, innovative ways enabling advanced biofuels developers to provide added value and reach commercialization in order to help the industry meet RFS production targets.

Finally, Bill can provide an update on Coskata’s progress in scaling from its lab setting near Chicago to a demonstration facility just outside of Pittsburgh, PA in the near term (2009), and providing the audience with a glimpse into Coskata’s upcoming milestones including the development of a commercial scale biorefinery, planned for 2011.



Cesar Granda

The MixAlco process converts any anaerobically biodegradable material (e.g., proteins, cellulose, hemicellulose, fats, pectin) into a wide array of chemicals and fuels. Such conversion occurs by anaerobic fermentation of the biomass into mixed acids by a mixed culture of naturally occurring microorganisms followed by the conversion of the mixed acids into the desired chemicals or fuels using conventional chemistry. Terrabon, LLC built a semi-works plant in Bryan, TX to confirm the scalability of this process. The semi-works plant processes the equivalent to 5 to 10 ton/day of biomass and is able to generate enough fermentation products to produce 300 gal/day of bio-gasoline. Such conversion to bio-gasoline takes place in a separate pilot plant, where the fermentation product is clarified, dewatered, thermally converted into ketones, and finally catalytically oligomerized into hydrocarbons. The semi-works plant monitors different parameters in the fermentation, such as conversion, selectivity towards acids and acid yield and biogas production. In the downstream chemical processing into hydrocarbons, many different parameters will be monitored, such as yields and selectivity in the thermal conversion to ketones and oligomerization to hydrocarbons, as well as the quality (e.g., octane number, RVP and emissions) of the final product. Results from these studies will be presented.

















Moderator: Randy Cortright, Virent Energy Systems (United States)

Presenter 1: Converting Lignocellulose into Fermentable Sugars
Johan van Groenestijn , TNO Quality of Life, (Netherlands)  [Confirmed]

Presenter 2: Catalytic Conversion of Sugars to Hydrocarbon Liquid Fuels 
Randy Cortright, Virent Energy Systems, (United States)  [Confirmed]

Presenter 3: The Syngas-to-Ethanol Platform: Economic and Environmental Advantages, Flexible Applications, and New Routes to Advanced Biofuel Commercialization 
William Roe, Coskata, (United States)  [Confirmed]

Presenter 4 (if necessary): Conversion of Lignocellulose and Other Waste Biomass into Ketones and Hydrocarbon Biofuels: The MixAlco Process, Semi-Works Plant Results 
Cesar Granda, Terrabon, LLC, (United States)  [Confirmed]

Panel Organizer:
Matthew Carr, Biotechnology Industry Organization, (United States)

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