Developing Ethanol from Cellulose in South Carolina

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Developing Ethanol from Cellulose in South
Carolina

• Tom French
• Bio-energy Program Manager
• July 8, 2009

GROTTO Workshop
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Why look at alternative energy for South Carolina?

• South Carolina has no indigenous coal, oil,
• natural gas or uranium
• South Carolina is a grain deficit state
• Energy Security replace imported oil
• Create New Jobs in our Communities
• Protecting the Environment
• Better control of our energy future

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Geographic Distribution of Biomass Crops


U.S. DOE, 2006. Breaking the Biological Barriers
to Cellulosic Ethanol A Joint Research Agenda,
DOE/SC-0095
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The BioEnergy Research Collaborative (BERC)
Creating Energy From Agricultural Resources
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BERC Approach

• Develop a non food based agricultural energy
  business in the State
• Focus on crops that thrive in the State and deal
  with the climate and marginal soil conditions
• Crops must be diverse enough to support year
  round operation for an ethanol plant.
• Develop a flexible pilot plant facility capable
  of dealing with diverse feed stocks and operating
  at 1 full scale

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Cellulose to Ethanol Research Strategy

• Switchgrass Simple renewable biomass with ease
  of handling and lower cost process development.
• Sweet Sorghum Cellulose conversion is
  understood and Sorghum produces large quantities
  of fermentable syrup
• Coastal Loblolly Pine Large standing reserves
  with the greatest conversion technology challenges

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Vision- Agriculture Based Energy
Energy Production Pathways
Production
Harvesting
Transporting
Ethanol
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BERC Partners

• University and Federal Research Partners
• Clemson University
• Savannah River National Laboratory
• South Carolina State University
• Corporate Partners
• Fagen Engineering LLC
• The SPINX Company
• Dyadic International Inc.
• Knights Bridge Bio Fuels

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Team Resources and Qualifications

• Environmental Research
• Woody biomass pretreatment
• Enzyme technology (cellulose hydrolysis)
• Enzyme Research
• High throughput analytical resources
• Applied Systems Research
• Commercialization of pretreatment
• Ethanol Separation Technologies
• Emerging technology from environmental waste
  research
• Process Development Capabilities
• Comprehensive process development

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Switch Grass Research

• Clemsons Pee Dee station currently growing
  switchgrass
• The program is in its third year
• 40 acres under cultivation research
• 15 acres wildlife habitat
• 15 member multi disciplinary scientific team
  involved

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Status of the Energy Crop Research

• Switchgrass
• First Harvest 2008 full harvest 2009
• Sweet sorghum
• Test crop planting 2008 5 acre control plots
  2009
• Loblolly Pine
• Discussions are being conducted with a major pulp
  and paper company

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General Overview of a Cellulosic Ethanol Process
Traditional Cellulosic Biomass Conversion to
Ethanol Based on Pretreatment Followed by
Hydrolysis and Fermentation
U.S. DOE, 2006. Breaking the Biological Barriers
to Cellulosic Ethanol A Joint Research Agenda,
DOE/SC-0095
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Flexible Pilot Plant

• Scale-up capability for new technology
• Design maximum flexibility
• 1 Ton a day capacity
• Micro-biology laboratory
• Bio-analytical laboratory
• Multi-biomass raw material capability
• Proximity to feedstocks in Coastal Plain

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CURI Building 101 and 252

• Bldg 101 9000 ft2, open floor space with
  overhead cranes
• and 40 ft superstructure
• Bldg 252 2400 ft2, office and laboratory space

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View from CURI Building 101
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Pilot Plant Status

• Fagen Inc. has begun designing the process that
  will go into the pilot plant
• Clemson and SRNL research labs are fully
  operational
• Federal funding has been received for initial 2
  years of research
• Proposal submitted to DOE to construct a pilot
  plant in Charleston

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BioEnergy Research Collaborative
Pilot-scale Processes Couple Basic Science in
Microbiology and Biochemical Engineering
Bioprocess Optimization Kinetics Enzyme Inhibition
Optimize Biomass Growth and Transportation
High Solids Fermentation High Throughput Analysis
Isolation of Novel Microbes Lignocellulose
Degraders Ethanol Producers
QUESTIONS?
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Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI)