INEOS Bio to license syngas fermentation technology

INEOS Group Holdings PLC, one of the three largest chemical conglomerates in the world, has announced the July 1, 2008 formation of a new company, INEOS Bio, whose initial focus will be the commercialization of what they call "the World’s leading second generation bioethanol technology process" to serve the global renewable transport fuels market.

The technology has been in development by Bioengineering Resources Inc. of Fayetteville, Arkansas for over two decades. While the process can certainly use cellulosic material as feedstocks (switchgrass, corn stover, wood wastes, rice straw, etc.) it does not produce "cellulosic ethanol" in the purest sense of the term. Through gasification, it reduces all components of the feedstock, not just the cellulose, into a syngas that is then fermented into ethanol with the water filtered out. Pound for pound, the process is anticipated to produce the highest amount of ethanol (roughly 105 gallons / ton of feedstock - depending on the carbon content and btu energy of the feedstock blend) of any thermochemical biorefinery process. As a result, Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) can be used as a feedstock and tires and fossil residues (like petcoke) can be blended in to increase the volume yield.

As illustrated in their website animation, the heat generated by gasification will be captured for co-generation of electricity - a byproduct that will help reduce the energy cost of the system and provide an important second profit stream.

The company plans on licensing new commercial-scale facilities that will be producing millions of gallons of ethanol by 2011.

Below is the press release as published on the new INEOS Bio website.

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Cars to run on fuel from household waste within two years
July 19th 2008, Fayetteville, AR
(Click here for video announcement)

INEOS now has technology to produce commercial quantities of bio ethanol fuel from landfill waste. Second generation bio ethanol reduces greenhouse gases from car use by 90% and doesn’t use food crops in the production process.

Cars to run on fuel from household waste within two years

“This is a breakthrough technology” says INEOS Bio CEO.

INEOS, one of the world’s top three chemical companies, announced today that it is aiming to produce commercial quantities of bioethanol fuel from biodegradable municipal waste within two years.

INEOS new technology will produce bioethanol in huge quantities from municipal solid waste, green waste, animal waste and agricultural residues amongst other things.

According to Peter Williams, INEOS Bio CEO, “Consistent with changing policy, in regions such as North America and Europe we see around 10% of the gasoline or petrol being replaced with second generation bioethanol. We believe our technology will make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gases and the world’s need for fossil fuels."

INEOS Bio Ethanol releases up to 90% less net greenhouse gases than petrol. One tonne of dry waste can be converted into about 400 litres of ethanol, which can be blended with or replace traditional fuels to substantially reduce vehicle emissions.

The technology – already proven at pilot plant scale – uses a simple three-stage process. The waste is first superheated to produce gases. Then, through a patented process, the gases are fed to naturally occurring bacteria, which efficiently produce ethanol. Finally, the ethanol is purified to make the fuel ready to be blended for use in cars.

Car companies have already developed engines that can run efficiently on both bioethanol and conventional fuels. Up to now, the challenge has been that bioethanol has been manufactured primarily from food crops and this has raised concerns on price and availability.

Peter Williams says, “The fact that we have been able to decouple second generation biofuel from food is a major breakthrough, and we expect our technology to provide a low-cost route to renewable fuels”.

Dr Geriant Evans is the Technology Transfer Manager for the UK’s National Non Food Crops Centre. He says: “This technology really ticks all the boxes. It turns waste into biofuel; it reduces greenhouse gases and doesn’t rely on food crops. We need this produced on a global scale as soon as possible. It’s a revolutionary technology”.

Governments, NGO’s and Municipal Authorities are already welcoming second generation Bio Fuels such as INEOS Bio Ethanol, which will contribute to both reducing greenhouse gases and the ever-growing waste disposal problem.

The process was developed in Fayetteville, Arkansas where Dan Coody is Mayor. He recognises the enormous potential.

“We’re proud that this technology has been developed here and it is definitely a technology that we’d like to employ in the City of Fayetteville. It will help us reduce our landfill, reduce our CO2 emissions and our reliance on foreign fuels all at the same time”

With the technology proven at pilot scale, the next challenge is to bring second-generation bioethanol into commercial production. INEOS aims to do this within two years.

Peter Williams, INEOS Bio CEO says: “We expect to announce the location of the first commercial pilot plant fairly shortly and we will quickly roll out this technology around the world. We aim to be producing commercial amounts of bioethanol fuel, for cars, from waste within about two years. "

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technorati bioenergy, biofuels, ethanol, syngas, cellulosic, gasification

New Planet Energy to assume Florida Ethanol Project

A number of announcements have been made in the within the last month involving two of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) EPAct 932 grant winners.

First, on May 8th, Iogen announced that it was not going to build its first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Idaho after all - foregoing the US$80 million grant offered by the U.S. Department of Energy. Their press release is titled Canadian company nixes Idaho for ethanol plant, picks Saskatchewan. The Canadian government is putting a package together of $500 million to help fund next-generation biofuels plants and the American D.O.E. was unwilling to raise its grant amount.

Regardless of where the first plant is located, proving the commercial-scale base technology will provide comparative evidence of value and yield for future developments.

That means that there are now officially five EPAct 932 grant projects under development.

On June 2, 2008, Alico announced that it was backing out of its grant-winning cellulosic ethanol project. Its situation is different than the other developers because it is a land management company that was reliant on Bioengineering Resources, Inc. (BRI) for its syngas fermentation conversion technology. The license for the BRI technology for this project is now being handled by New Planet Energy, LLC which plans to take over development of the southern Florida plant at a location separate from Alico property.

New Planet Energy management includes many of the executives involved previously in marketing BRI technology. Gary Smith, NPE's Chief Executive Officer, served as CEO of High Plains Corporation from 1998-2001. He was Chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) from 2001-2002. The company is also retaining the consulting services of Craig Evans who managed governmental compliance for the EPAct grant for Alico.

Below are two press releases - first by Alico and secondly by New Planet Energy.

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Alico to Discontinue Ethanol Efforts

LABELLE, Fla., June 2, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Alico, Inc. (Nasdaq:ALCO), a land management company, announced today that it will no longer explore the development of an ethanol facility. As previously announced, the Company had been selected by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and by the State of Florida to potentially receive grants and loan assistance to partially offset the costs of such a project. However, Alico will no longer pursue these grants.

During the past year, Alico has been working with New Planet Energy LLC on this project and NPE is continuing its pursuit of cellulosic ethanol. As a result of Alico's decision, Alico will have no further financial commitment or liability to New Planet Energy, the DOE or the State of Florida for this project. In reaching its decision to discontinue the ethanol project, Alico's management and Board of Directors determined that the risks associated therewith outweighed any reasonably anticipated benefits for Alico.

Alico Chairman and CEO John R. Alexander stated, "In reaching this decision, Alico will continue to focus on our core operations of real estate management, including agriculture and development opportunities, to provide returns for our shareholders."

About Alico, Inc.
Alico, Inc., a land management company operating in Central and Southwest Florida, owns approximately 135,500 acres of land located in Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Polk counties. Alico is involved in various agricultural operations and real estate activities. Alico's mission is to grow its asset values through its agricultural and real estate activities to produce superior long-term returns for its shareholders.

CONTACT: Alico, Inc.
John R. Alexander
(863) 675-2966
La Belle, Florida

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New Planet Energy to Assume Florida Ethanol Project

Alico, Inc., today announced that it was withdrawing from its role in developing an advanced biofuels plant using the gasification/fermentation technology of Bioengineering Resources, Inc. (“BRI”) in the State of Florida. Alico has been working with New Planet Energy, LLC (“NPE”) on this project for the past year.

“Despite Alico's decision not to go forward, New Planet Energy has assumed this project, has selected and is in the process of acquiring a site for the project in the State of Florida, and intends to pursue the venture to its successful conclusion,” it was confirmed by Gary R. Smith, Chief Executive Officer of New Planet Energy, LLC.

Craig Evans, who has served as an independent consultant to Alico, Inc. since the inception of its relationship with BRI, and who has been handling day-to-day operations for the project and for all grant and loan guarantee issues on behalf of Alico, has been hired by NPE Florida to assure that there will be complete continuity as part of the phased transition, Smith noted.

The New Planet Energy plant in Florida will produce ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks, initially from yard, wood and vegetative wastes, taking ethanol production beyond reliance on food resources in the production of biofuels.

Contacts:

Jim Stewart
Vice President, Marketing & Public Affairs, New Planet Energy, LLC
323-650-5095

Craig Evans
Project Consultant to NPE Florida, LLC
561-302-5782

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Finally, a news story in the online Palm Beach Post reveals more information about New Planet Energy's plans in Florida from an interview with Project Consultant Craig Evans. Some excerpts from the story...

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Start-up takes over abandoned ethanol project

Evans said New Planet Energy, also known as NPE Florida, has been working on the project with Alico for the past year. NPE will use the same technology that Alico was planning to use, a gasification/fermentation technology developed by Fayetteville, Ark.-based Bioengineering Resources Inc.

The goal is to produce 7 million gallons of ethanol a year in the first phase, then ramp up to 21 million gallons by late 2010 or early 2011.

By 2012 or 2015, plans call for the plant to produce 105 million gallons of ethanol a year, Evans said.

"That will be the first of 20 plants planned in Florida in the next five to seven years by this company," he said.

Jim Stewart, marketing and public affairs vice president for Los Angeles-based NPE, said the privately held company was formed in 2007 to assist in the commercialization of Bioengineering Resources' technology.

Alico's recent write-down and the tight credit markets made its board averse to risk, and recent news about ethanol's role in the energy crisis played a decisive factor, Evans said.

"The negative publicity about ethanol had a huge impact. That was the death knell," Evans said. "The whole food-to-fuel debate has been exaggerated."

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technorati BIOconversion, bioenergy, biofuels, ethanol, syngas, cellulosic, gasification

Coskata to build demonstration plant near Pittsburgh

Coskata announced today that they are building a demonstration-sized (40,000 gallon per year) cellulosic ethanol plant. This is significant because it could represent the first scale-up of a syngas-fermentation (SF) pilot technology in the world.

The other possible scale-up of this advanced technology is the BRI process that is a party to the ALICO project - a DOE EPAact grant winner of last year. That project is still awaiting licensing resolution among the parties that submitted the original proposal.

BACKGROUND
Ethanol is almost always seen as a process involving the fermentation of sugars into alcohol. Most of the debates about ethanol has to do with what feedstocks are going to be used and what process to break down the feedstock structure to isolate the sugars. The yield comes only from the sugar in the feedstock. Food vs. fuel, Energy Return on Investment (EROI), water usage, biofuel yield - these are all very real issues that will impact what, where, and how facilities will be located and financed.

Syngas-fermentation offers an alternative. Instead of biologically breaking down the feedstock using enzymes, the feedstock is gasified into component molecules of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. These become the building blocks for reformulation as higher alcohols. Some technologies, like Range Fuels', use inorganic catalysts to effect the reformulation. SF, on the other hand, relies on microorganisms in controlled bioreactors to eat up the syngas and produce ethanol and water.

It is a very attractive alternative because it is omnivorous (any blended biomass will do including unrecyclable urban waste and fossil derivatives like tires, auto fluff, petcoke, and plastics). The yield is high because the non-sugar content of the feedstock can be utilized for its molecules. The higher the content of carbon in the feedstock, the higher the yield of ethanol gallons per ton. It requires very little water (roughly 1 gallon per gallon of biofuel) and most of the energy for gasification comes from the feedstock itself.

Below is the complete press release that was posted today.

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Coskata Inc. Chooses Madison, Pa. for Commercial Demonstration Facility to Produce Next-Generation Ethanol
Alter Nrg, Westinghouse Plasma to support 40,000 gallon cellulosic ethanol plant

Madison, Pa. – April 25, 2008 – Coskata Inc., a leading developer of next-generation biofuels, said today it will produce 40,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year at a commercial demonstration plant near Pittsburgh.

The $25 million project will be located at the Westinghouse Plasma Center, the current site of a pilot-plant gasifier owned and operated by Westinghouse Plasma Corporation (WPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Alter Nrg Corp.

“Coskata has been eager to reach this milestone, because it will be a significant demonstration before building our first commercial plant that we can produce ethanol from non-food based sources for less than $1 a gallon,” said Bill Roe, president and CEO of Coskata. “This facility is being built with some of the leading gasification technology, supplied by Alter NRG, and in one of the most progressive states for next generation ethanol."

The plant, located about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, is expected to begin delivering ethanol in early 2009 utilizing a variety of input materials, including woody biomass as well as agricultural and industrial wastes. General Motors, a strategic partner and investor in Coskata, will use the next generation ethanol for testing in flex-fuel vehicles at its Milford, Mich., Proving Grounds.

“We are delighted Coskata has chosen the State of Pennsylvania as the first location for production of their next generation ethanol,” said Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. “Coskata’s cutting edge facility will strengthen Pennsylvania’s already first class reputation as a leader in producing and delivering alternative fuels and will bring us one step closer to further reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

Coskata announced in February that it will commission a full-scale, 50 million – 100 million gallon-per-year commercial plant by the year 2011. This facility is being planned in parallel with the construction of the Madison demonstration facility and is expected to break ground this year.

“The Coskata syngas to ethanol plant, using Westinghouse Plasma Corporation’s gasifier will make for a world-class demonstration,” said Mark Montemurro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alter Nrg. “We view Coskata’s highly efficient process as a perfect complement to our environmentally responsible gasification technology.”

Coskata leverages proprietary microorganisms and efficient bioreactor designs in a unique three-step conversion process that can turn virtually any carbon-based feedstock into ethanol, from anywhere in the world.

Coskata’s process for next-generation ethanol is environmentally superior, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 84% compared to conventional gasoline; and has the ability to generate up to 7.7 times as much energy as is required to produce the ethanol, as verified by Argonne National Labs in a well-to-wheel analysis. Additionally, Coskata’s process uses less than a gallon of process water to make a gallon of ethanol, compared with three gallons or more required by other processes.

About Coskata
Coskata is a biology-based renewable energy company that is commercializing technology to produce biofuels from a wide variety of feedstocks. Using proprietary microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, the company will produce ethanol for under $1 per gallon almost anywhere in the world, from a wide variety of feedstocks. Coskata has compiled a strong IP portfolio of patents, trade secrets and know-how and assembled a first-class team for the development and commercialization of its compelling syngas-to-ethanol process technology. For more information, please visit www.coskata.com.

About Alter Nrg
Alter Nrg is pursuing alternative energy solutions to meet the growing demand for environmentally responsible energy in world markets. The company’s vision is to become a North American leader in the development of innovative gasification projects for the commercial production of energy. The Company’s objective for the next decade is to utilize our commercially proven plasma gasification technology to become a senior energy producer of hydrogen, syngas, and transportation fuels (diesel, naphtha, ethanol, etc.), steam and electricity, all of which are fundamental products for the world’s growing energy needs. For more information, visit www.alternrg.ca.

About Westinghouse Plasma Corporation, a division of Alter Nrg
Relying on more than 30 years of experience in the application of plasma technology, Westinghouse Plasma Corporation (WPC) is focused on applying innovative applications using plasma for environmentally responsible energy production, waste processing and metallurgical and chemical processing solutions. Our experience, including over 24 patents relating to the plasma torch, plasma torch systems and process design, allows us to meet the needs of both research and development for industrial applications in various markets. Westinghouse Plasma Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alter Nrg, a publicly traded company on the TSX Venture Exchange. For more information, please visit www.westinghouse-plasma.com.

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technorati BIOconversion, bioenergy, biofuels, ethanol, syngas, cellulosic, gasification

Coskata and GM partner to advance syngas to ethanol technology

Congratulations are due to venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, President Bill Roe of Coskata, and General Motors President Rick Wagoner on their announced partnership to advance the vested interest GM has made in the production of cellulosic ethanol. While focusing much of their attention on building advanced E-Flex technology to reduce the need for liquid fuels, GM certainly recognizes that ethanol is going to be a major form of renewable fuel globally during most of the coming century.

Now the hard part - making all the pieces work. The paradigm shift from fossil to renewable energy will touch the everyday lives of virtually every being on the planet either directly or indirectly. "Getting from zero to five" is a footrace that will be the hard part because the development of base technology is involved. "Getting from 5 to 60" will be much easier because it will be a race of marketing vision and muscle to determine the winners.

Can Costaka refine their process and make it viable at commercially scale? What feedstock sources will they focus their attention on? At what point will they be in a position to compete with other cellulosic processes that have broader recognition and more developed pilot facilities? Will enzymatic or thermochemical processes co-exist in the future or will one nullify the need for the other?

Compared to the national political races going on, we are likely to feel the impact of this global industrial competition for much longer. Pull up a chair and pass the popcorn - assuming that corn is not all used to make ethanol!

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GM, Coskata Partner in Breakthrough Ethanol Technology
Process Makes Ethanol from Renewables Including Trash and Old Tires

DETROIT, Jan. 13 – General Motors announced a partnership Sunday with Coskata Inc. to use the company’s breakthrough technology which affordably and efficiently makes ethanol from practically any renewable source, including garbage, old tires and plant waste.

Coskata, which was formally introduced as part of GM’s opening press conference at the North American International Auto Show, uses a proprietary process that leverages patented microorganisms and bioreactor designs to produce ethanol for less than $1 a gallon, about half of today’s cost of producing gasoline.

“We are very excited about what this breakthrough will mean to the viability of biofuels and, more importantly, to our ability to reduce dependence on petroleum,” GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said.

Coskata’s process addresses the issues most often raised about grain-based ethanol production.

According to Argonne National Laboratory, which analyzed Coskata’s process, for every unit of energy used, it generates up to 7.7 times that amount of energy, and it reduces CO2 emissions by up to 84 percent compared with a well-to-wheel analysis of gasoline.

Coskata’s process uses less than a gallon of water to make a gallon of ethanol compared with three gallons or more for other processes.

Coskata, based in Warrenville, IL, can use its technology practically anywhere in the world that a carbon-based feedstock is available.

For GM, this could lead to joint efforts in markets such as China, where growing energy demand and a new energy research center could jumpstart a significant effort into ethanol made from biomass, Wagoner said.

More immediately, GM will receive the first ethanol from Coskata’s pilot plant in the fourth quarter of 2008. The fuel will be used in testing vehicles at GM’s Milford Proving Grounds.

GM is the auto industry leader in offering consumers a choice of flex-fuel cars and trucks that run on either ordinary gasoline or E85 – a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent, or any combination of the two. GM produces more than 1 million flex-fuel vehicles a year and has 3.5 million on the road globally.

In the U.S., GM has more than 2.5 million flex-fuel models on the road and is committed to making half its production flex-fuel capable by 2012. GM sells 11 E85-capable models this year and will increase that to more than 15 models for the 2009 model year.

The next logical step was making the fuel more readily available. GM has worked in partnerships with businesses, universities and non-governmental organizations over the last two years to grow the U.S. infrastructure for E85, helping to open 300 fueling stations in 15 states.

The timing of the GM-Coskata partnership coincides with President Bush’s signing of the Energy Independence and Security Act last month, which calls for a dramatic increase in biofuels – from 7.5 billion gallons in 2012 to 36 billion gallons in 2022. Corn- and other grain-based ethanol are expected to account for up to 15 billion gallons of that new standard with 21 billion gallons coming from cellulosic and biomass sources.

One of the criticisms of cellulosic ethanol is that its development is several years away. Coskata CEO and President Bill Roe says the next generation ethanol is here today.

“We will have our first commercial-scale plant making 50 to 100 million gallons of ethanol running in 2011, and that includes the two years it will take to build the plant,” Roe said. “Success in delivering on our business plan means that we could account for a significant portion of the biomass ethanol mandated in the new Renewable Fuels Standard within 10 years.”

The partnership includes an undisclosed equity stake for GM, joint research and development into emissions technology and investigation into making ethanol from GM facilities’ waste and non-recyclable vehicle parts.

The Coskata partnership builds on a quarter century of GM research into biofuels and is part of GM’s five-fold approach to providing energy alternatives for automobiles. These include continued efforts in making fuel-efficient engines; E85 ethanol; hybrids; electrically driven vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells.

“There is no question in my mind that making ethanol more widely available is absolutely the most effective and environmentally sound solution,” Wagoner said. “And it’s one that can be acted on immediately.”

About GM
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

About Coskata
Coskata is a biology-based renewable energy company for economies dependent on oil. Using proprietary microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, the company will produce ethanol for under US$1.00 per gallon almost anywhere in the world, from a wide variety of input material. Founded in 2006 by leading renewable energy investors and entrepreneurs, including Khosla Ventures, Advanced Technology Ventures, and GreatPoint Ventures, Coskata has compiled a strong IP portfolio of patents, trade secrets, know-how and assembled a first-class team for the development and commercialization of its compelling syngas-to-ethanol process technology. For more information, please visit www.coskata.com.

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technorati bioenergy, biofuels, ethanol, hydrolysis, syngas, cellulosic

LS9 - Using synthetic biology to produce renewable petroleum

Most of the technologies explored on this blog involve the production of cellulosic ethanol using biochemical or thermochemical processes. But ethanol has its detractors, and the processes that produce cellulosic ethanol can involve the use of water and the expense of energy to produce heat. What emerging technology and renewable fuels might succeed cellulosic ethanol? Biotechnologists on both coasts think they have the answer - Renewable Petroleum™ produced using synthetic biology. Let the company's website and an article from Technology Review tell the story...

LS9, Inc., the Renewable Petroleum Company™, is a privately-held biotechnology company pursuing industrial applications of synthetic biology to produce proprietary biofuels. LS9's products, currently under development, are designed to closely resemble petroleum derived fuels, but be renewable, clean, domestically produced, and cost competitive. In addition to biofuels, LS9 will also develop industrial biochemicals for specialty applications.

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From Technology Review
Hydrocarbon fuels are better suited than ethanol to existing delivery infrastructure and engines, and their manufacture would require less energy. To make biological production of hydrocarbons a reality, the company is bringing together leaders in synthetic biology and industrial biotechnology.

Synthetic biology is the state of the art of bioenegineering, and refers to the design, construction, and improvement of biological machines at the molecular genetic level.

Using synthetic biology, LS9 has reached into nature and accessed the required biological tools, engineered them to function under industrial conditions, and is optimizing their performance to meet our economic objectives.

It has genetically engineered various bacteria, including E. coli, to custom-produce hydrocarbon chains.

Beyond custom-developing hydrocarbons, LS9 foresees licensing its technology. In particular, the company might someday forge agreements with ethanol producers, whose manufacturing plants could be put to more profitable and efficient use making hydrocarbon fuels.

LS9 is counting on the fact that ethanol is not really the best biofuel. Ethanol can't be delivered through existing pipelines. It also contains 30 percent less energy than gasoline, and it must be mixed with gasoline before being burned in conventional engines. LS9's fuels would have none of these disadvantages. What's more, LS9's fuels might be produced more efficiently than ethanol. For example, at the end of ethanol fermentation, the mixture has to be distilled to separate ethanol from water. LS9's products would just float to the top of a fermentation tank to be skimmed off.

LS9 now needs to prove that its technology is economical and can produce fuels on a large scale, says Jim McMillan, principal biochemical engineer in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Bioenergy Center, based in Golden, CO. "I don't doubt that [making hydrocarbon fuel from microbes] can be done; the question is how quickly and at what cost," he says. LS9 says it hopes to bring its hydrocarbon biofuels to market in four or five years.

Next year LS9 will build a pilot plant in California to test and perfect the process, and the company hopes to be selling improved biodiesel and providing synthetic biocrudes to refineries for further processing within three to five years.

technorati BIOconversion, bioenergy, biofuels

Molecular visualization of the bioconversion process

The tools available for the hunt for renewable energy are very 21st Century. In place of wildcatting subterranean petroleum deposits using multi-million dollar rigs and oil crews, much of the ground-breaking research is taking place with meticulous precision at government labs in collaboration with universities and industry. New tools include robotics, mass spectrometers, laser imagers, and data collection and analysis devices. As a result, communications can be digital and more visual than ever before, speeding questions and understanding at warp speed around the globe.

The Society of Industrial Microbiology convened their 29th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals in Denver this week which was hosted by the federally-financed National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) situated in nearby Golden, Colorado. One of the highlights of the symposium was a tour of NREL's groundbreaking facilities. The tour included visits to its biochemical and thermochemical labs and pilot plants for converting an array of feedstock (particularly corn stover for now) into sugars and ethanol.

One stop was in a research area where high tech imaging devices are employed to analyze cell and molecular structures involved in the bioconversion process. At right is a picture of the X8 Proteum - a new tool for conducting biological crystallography research. Data collected from this device can be used to build accurate models and animations to aid understanding.

Each tour group was treated to a 4 minute animation that zoomed from outside a corn plant into its stalk structures with an intricate graphic depiction of how molecules interact during the bioconversion process. It was built from data provided by NREL and visualized by the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC).

In an article titled Tapping Plants for Fuel Cassie Ferguson, writing for the SDSC, explains the animation process this way:

To explore the intricate molecular dynamics of cellulase, researchers at NREL have turned to CHARMM (Chemistry at HARvard Molecular Mechanics), a suite of modeling software for macromolecular simulations, including energy minimization, molecular dynamics, and Monte Carlo simulations. The widely-used community code, originally developed in 1983 in the laboratory of Martin Karplus at Harvard University, models how atoms interact.

In the cellulase modeling, CHARMM is used to explore the ensemble configurations and protein structure, the interactions of the protein with the cellulose substrate, and the interactions of water with both. Not only are the NREL simulations the first to simultaneously model the cellulase enzyme, cellulose substrate, and surrounding water, they are among the largest molecular systems ever modeled. In particular, the researchers are interested in how cellulase aligns and attaches itself to cellulose, how the separate parts of cellulase—called protein domains—work with one another, and the effect of water on the overall system. And they are also investigating which of the over 500 amino acids that make up the cellulase protein are central to the overall workings of the "machine" as it chews up cellulose.

To the biochemists in the collaboration, the simulation is like a stop-motion film of a baseball pitcher throwing a curveball. In real-life the process occurs too quickly to evaluate visually, but by breaking down the throw into a step-by-step process, observers can find out the precise role of velocity, trajectory, movement, and arm angle. In simulations on SDSC's DataStar supercomputer, the researchers have modeled a portion of the enzyme, the type 1 cellulose binding domain, on a surface of crystalline cellulose in a box of water. The modeling revealed how the amino acids of the domain orient themselves when they interact with crystalline cellulose as well as how the interaction disrupts the layer of water molecules that lie on top of the cellulose, providing a detailed glimpse of this intricate molecular dance.

While this lengthy animation does not appear to be available online, another bioconversion cartoon (pictured at top) simulated by Dr. Mark Nimlosis (NREL) and visualized by Dr. Ross Walker and Amit Chourasia of SDSC is available for download.

technorati BIOconversion, bioenergy, biofuels, ethanol, animation

BIO World Congress is bio-energized by cellulosic ethanol

The 4th Annual BIO World Congress on Biotechnology & Bioprocessing was held under ideal conditions in Orlando between March 22-24. In the past the focus has been on a wider range of industries including pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, nanotechnology, and plastics. This year, cellulosic ethanol took center stage.

Many academics were on hand including post-grads from my old alma mater (Cornell) who were furiously typing up their notes of the many excellent presentations. For the first time I didn't take any notes - I took pictures (with a 7 megapixel Casio Xilim) which is an excellent way to capture the blurrying array of slides for later mental digestion. One thing I have learned about left-brained presenters - they tend to cram more information into their visuals than they address. At a parent orientation at MIT I saw students photographing chalkboards full of organic chemistry equations and I thought - boy that looks like the way to go!

Their were five tracks running simultaneously: Biofuels and bioenergy, Renewable feedstocks, Chemicals & biochemicals, Consumer manufacturing and bioprocessing, and Business development infrastructure and public policy. Probably 75% of the breakout sessions were focused on some aspect of biomass conversion of ag and forestry feedstock for the production of ethanol and bioproducts: CE in California, Woody crops for biorefineries, the use of genomics to improve biological conversion of biomass, the emerging defense department bioenergy market, reshaping the paper and pulp industry... on and on. I needed Hermione's time shifter - but the printed brochure of abstracts is a goldmine of summary information.

My chief objective is to meet the presenters and network. It was a field day for me. I spent most of my time with Richard Germain of Navigant Consulting and Jim Stewart of BRI (who used to work with Walt Disney and saw the first briefings that went into the conversion of Orlando into Walt Disney World!). Vinod Khosla gave the keynote and rousing lunch addresses from Jay Keasling (UC/Berkeley educator and 2006 Discover Magazine Scientist of the Year) and Alexander Karsner of the DOE/EERE stressed the national importance of the proceedings.

Aside from BRI there were several winners of the coveted DOE cellulosic ethanol grants giving presentations - Diversa and Celunol, Bluefire, Iogen, and Broin. I didn't see anyone from Abengoa or Rangefuels (but Doug Cameron of Khosla Ventures was in attendance).

The development of fast-growing ag and forest biomass was a hot topic of conversation including presentations by ArborGen 's Nathan Ramsey. From my vantage point as a marketing consultant for Price BIOstock Services in forestry biomass I found repeated references to the importance of forest stewardship and the critical role that the paper and pulp industries can play in achieving clean biomass to energy conversions. People are not aware that 44% of existing renewable electrical energy is being generated by the forestry industries.

The press was there and I was able to knosh with fellow blogger David Adams with whom I keep a running online relationship. He cornered Vinod Khosla for an excellent interview and introduced me to some journalists including Paul Elias of the Associated Press.

One panel relating to ongoing bioenergy education and communications was moderated by Terry Nipp of Sun Grant Association. Mark Downing of the Oakridge National Laboratory spoke of DOE plans to foster opportunities among emerging technologies in bioenergy. He provided insight to five years planning (2007-2012) by the Energy Efficiency an Renewable Energy division of the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Sun Grant Initiative is setting up regional feedstock partnerships to evaluate biomass production potential in each of the large scale biogeographical regions of the country.

One recipient of Sun Grant funding is a new educational resource called BioWeb that is an online resource for bioenergy and bioproducts. It will be premiere in beta form online on March 28th and releasing in full in mid-April. I videotaped Kelly Tiller, website editor, who described it as "an encyclopedia of everything biomass" that is approachable for every level of user. What makes it unique compared to the BIOenergy WIKI is that it is peer-reviewed with restricted contributions that are limited to biomass. Their creation of graphical interfaces could be very useful in simplifying understanding of the many technical complexities and relationships of this industry. They will also report on the emerging findings and products from the regional feedstock partnerships.

Other than Jim Stewart's BRI presentation on the final day I saw no mention of bioconversion of syngas through the use of catalysts or bioorganisms. Syngas fermentation would be almost a universal solution to feedstock conversion to ethanol and other chemicals - enabling us to convert blended ag, forestry, and urban waste in all its forms. Other companies are on the trail of this exciting technology but none of them appeared on the docket or in attendance.

technorati BIOblog, BIOconversion, bioenergy, biofuels, ethanol, hydrolysis, syngas, cellulosic, legislation, gasification, decentralization, security

ACORE wins BIG in Vegas

What a difference a year makes! The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) deserves strong praise for its 2006-2007 accomplishments as facilitators of America's emerging technologies development.

This year's Power-Gen Renewable Energy & Fuels conference in Las Vegas (March 5-8) was a "candy store" of information and networking opportunities for anyone interested in learning about emerging technologies in the renewable energy field. If this is an indication of ACORE's trajectory, anyone who reads this blog should make a point to attend next year - roughly the same time and city as this year. Not only was there greater exhibitor diversity and maturity but current events leading up to the conference imbued it with a heightened sense of importance and urgency.

Networking opportunities for the conference registrants abounded starting with tours to Hoover Dam and local desert solar arrays. Other receptions featured industry luminaries like former CIA Director James Woolsey.

I spent most of my time attending workshops and conference sessions dealing with biomass and conversion issues. Solar, wind, ocean wave, and geothermal technological development were also prominent on the agenda.

The Biomass Coordinating Council held its 2nd annual pre-conference meeting on Monday, March 5th. In comparison to last year (where attendees made brief introductions and discussed general topics in a round table configuration) this year its venerated and dynamic committee chairman, Bill Holmberg, organized a compelling string of ten joint presentations conducted by thirty of the participants. Topics included: Biomass in Developing Countries, Sustainability, Rural Development, Multifuel Engines and Biofuels, Soil Enrichment, Fast Growing Trees, Prison Industries, and Cellulosic Ethanol - the Future of BioFuels.

For my part, I co-presented - with Barbara Bramble of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Doug Durante of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition (CFDC) - a discussion of how our Communications Working Group would foster networking, education, promotion, and feedback over the coming year.

Barbara focused on the NWF-supported BioEnergy WIKI that her organization inaugurated several months ago. It typifies the kind of innovation that will help move BCC collaborative tasks forward - online, user-written, informative, and topical. Be sure to visit it and bookmark it now. It will become the BCC/Communication Working Group's primary means of communication this year.

CFDC has been a major producer of focused publications that are used throughout Congress and industry to help foster understanding of clean fuels technologies, policy issues, and opportunities.

Navigant Consulting's extremely knowledgeable experts ran a pre-conference workshop that was worth the price of admission called "Uncovering the Full Renewable Energy Potential." Their work on the Bioenergy Action Plan for California was a key determinant leading to this year's passage of various progressive energy policies by its "action" Governor, Arnold Schwarzenneger, and the state legislature. At the conference they gave attendees their insight about: Technologies, Economics, and Markets; Biofuels Today and Tomorrow, and Renewable Energy Project Development. These experts (Richard Germain, Michele Rubino, Ryan Kotafsky, and Lisa Frantzis) are a must-see at the many events they attend around the country.

Navigant is conducting a comprehensive, multi-client study called "The (Re-) Emerging Bioenergy Economy" which will focus on the true potenital of bioenergy in the U.S. It is aimed, and priced, for strategic involvement and utilization by subscribing companies who will be introduced to the study, kept informed during development, and receive key findings in a presentation style report. Approximately eight weeks after the final meeting, NCI staff will offer one-and-one-half day follow-up meetings with a tailored presentation for each company. Subscription details are available by contacting Richard Germain.

Introduced by Jackie Jones of conference owner and producer PenWell Corporation at the keynote address, Michael Eckhart, President of ACORE, cited a Thomas Friedman quotation certain to be repeated often this year - "Green is the new Red, White, & Blue" - which identifies the patriotic fervor of the movement as well as its broad based support (among both "red" and "blue" states). He then introduced luminaries from each of the major renewable technologies represented at the conference - Alec Dreyer from Horizon Wind Energy LLC, Cameron "Mac" Moore from Germany-based Coenergy Group, Dr. Dan Arvizu from the National Renewable Energy Lab, and Dave Vander Griend from ICM, Inc. Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons also made an impassioned case for relocating businesses to Nevada - "No taxes!"

Ethanol naysayers take note - with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) announcement of over $385 million in matching grants for 6 cellulosic ethanol plants around the country, there is little debate now about the net energy balance of ethanol. At one session on Advanced BioFuels Technologies, Michele Rubino of Navigant oversaw a panel that included two winners of the grants - Abengoa Bioenergy, and BlueFire Ethanol - and Seth Snyder of Argonne National Labs. Much of the presentation focused on a comparison of biochemical vs. thermochemical conversion processes and how they would be deployed in upcoming installations.

Jim Stewart of BRI, a third CE plant DOE grant recipient, made a presentation at the BCC workshop about BRI syngas fermentation technology - the advantages and benefits of its unique bioreactor process. He also drew attention to my BioEnergy BlogRing with a very generous testimonial. Thank you, Jim!

There was more interest expressed this year than last concerning the variety and quantity of biomass feedstock available for conversion. With the transitioning emphasis from corn to cellulosic ethanol feedstocks, there was a number of speakers who mentioned the untapped potential of woody biomass. It may be surprising to learn that the forestry and paper mill industries have been the largest producers of renewable energy in America - accounting for roughly 44% of the total. This production is generally unseen because the privat companies that produce it also use it - to avoid the expense and reliance on external, public sources of energy. The anticipated renaissance of the forestry industry will play a crucial role in our ability to meet renewable energy goals in the coming decades. It was heartening to see the wood industry sector receive some of the recognition it deserves.

One of the last presentations of the day was devoted to promotion of the 25x'25 Vision:

By 2025, America's farms, forests and ranches will provide 25 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States, while continuing to produce safe, abundant, and affordable food, feed and fiber.

National Co-chair Read Smith was joined by summit program committee member Richard Hahn to advance the goals of the organization as well as promote the upcoming 25x'25 Summit in Washington, D.C. March 20-21 at the Fairmont Hotel.

The agenda for the 25x'25 Summit is now posted on their website and it consists of a who's who of renewable energy, some who were not in attendance at the Power-Gen show including keynote speaker Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures, David Morse of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, various Senators and Congressmen, and Thomas Friedman of the N.Y. Times (invited).

PLEASE NOTE: I plan to be at both the 25x'25 Summit and the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing from March 22-24 in Orlando, Florida. Please notify me if you will be attending - I'd love to see you there.

technorati 25x'25, biofuels, conversion, bioenergy, agriculture, feedstock, legislation, forestry

Celunol launches commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Japan

Celunol Corporation out of Dedham, Massachusetts is making good on its commitment to help open commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities this year using their proprietary wet biomass conversion technology.

The technology

The sugar in cellulosic biomass is locked up in the form of cellulose and hemicellulose. Cellulose contains glucose, the same type of sugar—a six-carbon (C6) sugar—that is found in cornstarch and that can be fermented to ethanol using conventional yeasts.  However, hemicellulose contains mainly non-glucose sugars—five-carbon (C5) sugars.  Conventional yeasts cannot ferment most non-glucose sugars to ethanol with commercially acceptable yields.

Celunol’s technology enables almost complete conversion of all the sugars found in cellulosic biomass.  This efficiency advantage, combined with the low input cost of cellulosic biomass, results in superior economics in the production of ethanol.

(Its) groundbreaking technology is based on the metabolic engineering of microorganisms. Its key element is a set of genetically engineered strains of Escherichia coli bacteria that are capable of fermenting into ethanol essentially all of the sugars released from many types of cellulosic biomass. This trait enables Celunol to achieve the required efficiency to make the process commercially feasible.

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BioEthanol Japan Begins Production of Cellulosic Ethanol from Wood Scraps; Uses Celunol Technology

BioEthanol Japan on Tuesday became the world’s first company to produce cellulosic ethanol from wood construction waste on a commercial basis.

The plant in Osaka Prefecture has an annual capacity of 1.4 million liters (about 370,000 gallons US). In 2008, it plans to boost production to 4 million liters (1 million gallons).

BioEthanol Japan was established in 2004 by five companies, including construction firm Taisei Corp., major trading house Marubeni Corp., Daiei Inter Nature System, and beermaker Sapporo Breweries Ltd.

Marubeni is supplying the process technology, which it has licensed from US-based Celunol (earlier post), to BioEthanol Japan. Marubeni is also supplying the same technology for a wood ethanol project in Asia, and is also involved in a bioethanol project using sugar cane in Thailand run by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

Celunol is a privately held company headquartered in Dedham, Massachusetts moving rapidly to commercialize its proprietary technology for producing ethanol from a wide array of cellulosic biomass feedstocks, including bagasse, agricultural waste, wood products and dedicated energy crops.


technorati BIOblog, BIOstock, BIOconversion, biomass, agriculture, forestry