Integrated Biorefinery Research for the Production of Biofuels and Bioenergy

Benito StradiGiovanna DeQueiroz

Audubon Sugar Institute

- April 17, 2007 -

Rising Biofuel Demand

• President Bush in his 2006 State of the Union address urged Americans to start using more renewable fuels as a way to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil

• By 2012, the U.S. oil industry will be required to use 7.5 billion gallons a year of renewable fuels--expected to be mostly ethanol

• By 2017, a cut by 20% is expected in gasoline consumption

• U.S. producers can not yet make enough ethanol to meet demand– 4.9 billion gallons of ethanol were

produced in 2006, while 5.5 billion gallons were consumed--Imports made up the difference

• Imports compete even with tariffs and quotas– Price per gallon of ethanol at > $ 2– Ethanol from sugarcane costs about

$1.75 per gallon imported (importers have their own incentives), including transportation and tariffs

– Someone locally is making money hand-over-fist

Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2007

• The U.S. Department of Energy will invest as much as $385 million to develop an alternative to corn-based ethanol

• Six companies have been selected to produce a transportation fuel in commercial quantities at a cost of around $1 a gallon

1. NREL, Broin Co. , DuPont Co. Enzymes, corncobs and corn stalks, at Emmetsburg, Iowa

2. Abengoa Bioenergy Enzymes, corn stalks and wheat straw, at Colwich, Kansas

3. Alico, Inc.Chemicals, orange peels and wood waste, at LaBelle, Florida

4. BlueFire Ethanol Inc. and Waste Management Inc.5. Iogen Biorefinery Partners LLC, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Royal Dutch Shell PLC6. Range Fuels Inc.

CAMBRIDGE, MA, March 28, 2007 - Celunol Corp., a leader in the development of cellulosic ethanol, announced today that it has been awarded up to $5.3 million by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a research program aimed at developing further improvements to the company's cellulosic ethanol fermentation process technology.

Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2007

Integration of The State’s Agriculture and Industry Via Bioenergy Production

Bagasse

Sugarcane

Taken to sugar millCane is cut

Raw Sugar

Waste (bagasse)

A Local Source for Bioenergy and Biobased Products

Biorefinery Concept for the Production of Bioenergy and Biobased Productsat the Audubon Sugar Institute

Figure 1. Sugarcane bagasse storage temperature and humidity monitor inside pile.

Biomass StorageCo-Principal Investigator with Don Day

Changes in composition with time ?

Figure 2. Ethanol Production from Sugarcane Bagasse. Six steps are involved 1) Bagasse treatment; 2) Washing and removal of inhibitors; 3) Removal of excess moisture by pressing the biomass; 4) Enzymatic saccharification of biomass material to release glucose; 5) simultaneous saccharification and fermentation in a 20 liter volume fermentor; and 6) distillation of ethanol from fermentation broth. The center photograph is the system assembled prior to biomass recovery from pretreatment, the labels indicate the unit in which each operation takes place .

Pilot Plant Operation

Washing the Bagasse

Ethanol Yields

90-94 % of theoretical maximum30 g of bagasse/100 g of total weight70 g of ethanol/liter of fermentation broth

From Sugar to Bio-Fuels

Ethanol

Oil/Fatty Acids

Diesel Substitute

Testing the technology

Figure 4. Acid Trans-Esterification of Soybean Oil and Ethanol.

Sample Batch#

% Ethyl esters

% Glycerol

Sulfur PPM S

Acidity pH

1 95.54 0.04 <1 62 97.36 0.05 <1 53 96.23 0.05 <1 64 96.24 0.05 <1 55 96.46 0.05 <1 5-66 94.32 0.05 <1 57 96.68 0.05 <1 68 97.73 0.05 <1 5-69 98.20 0.07 <1 5-610 95.10 0.06 <1 6-7

Table 1. Conversion to ethyl esters from the mixture of ethanol and soybean oil.

Testing the final product!

Glycerol

Citric acid

Skin graftsPropane

Toluene (last week)Cinnamic acid

From Sugar to biofuels to biopolymers

Co-principal investigator with Lee Madsen

Important to reach into new applications that can improve recovery from injury

Genetic & Engineering News, 2006

Figure 5. Photopolimerization of matrix under UV Light. The surface of the matrices fluoresces with a green color as the [2+2] addition takes place.

A

B

Figure 6. Biodegradation of Biomedical Composites. A: Yeast is not growing on the photopolymerized surface of the matrix, B: Yeast is growing on the non-photopolymerized matrix (arrow pointed to the growing yeast cells).

Bagasse Pyrolysis and Gasification

Figure 8. Ignition of Syngas Stream. The syngas flame is coming out of the red cup where the syngas stream has been light using the wooden stick.

Figure 7. Gasifier Schematic Representation.

Flow Profile of the Airflow During the Partial Oxidation of Sugarcane Bagasse in a Fixed-Bed Gasifier

Figure 9. Dr. Benito Stradi's Group at the Audubon Sugar Institute. From left to right, sitting at front, Dr. Giovanna DeQueiroz, Dr. Trichur Ramachandran, in the back in the same order Eng. Victor Bazan, M. Sc. John White, M. Sc. Joy Joshina, and Dr. Benito Stradi.

Acknowledgements• U.S. Department of Energy• American Sugarcane League• Don Day• Lee Madsen• Chardcie Verret• Julie King• Ron Giroir• Brian White• Audubon Sugar Staff