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biofuels technology news
New technology Biofuels enzyme collaboration provides accessible receives funding US Department of Energy low-cost fermentable sugars. inline characterisation The ‘There are two major challenges (DoE) has awarded enzyme Mettler Toledo has launched a new inline particle system characterisation tool that is suitable for the biotechnology industry. The electric ParticleTrack E25 measures aqueous particle and droplet systems. The probebased technology eliminates measurement variability in the sample for a more cost-effective system characterisation. Mettler Toledo says the ParticleTrack E25 is suitable for measuring modern manufacturing processes. Based on the traditional focused beam reflectance technology (FBRM) but with no air/ gas supply, the FBRM probe is robust and allows for real-time product quality optimisation. l
company Novozymes and biotechnology provider MBI $2.5 million (€1.8 million) to develop new enzymebased technologies to convert corn stover into sugars for subsequent conversion into biofuels. The collaboration aims to tailor enzymes for MBI’s AFEXtreated biomass, which will in turn enable the production of
in converting agricultural biomass into bio-based products,’ says Allen Julian, MBI chief business officer. ‘One is the challenge of handling, storing and hauling low-density biomass to the refinery, the other being the challenge of breaking down the biomass cost-effectively into its constituent sugars.’ MBI previously won a $4.3 million DoE award to develop and scale up its AFEX technology and is currently completing the installation of a one tonne per day pilot-scale reactor at its Michigan facility. l
Ciengis’ control system offers advantages in biodiesel industry
Increased corn oil productivity pursued by Abengoa
Ciengis, an optimisation and advanced process control solutions provider, has reported positive results from the installation of its process at a biodiesel plant in Portugal.
Bioethanol producer Abengoa Bioenergy has decided to add an oil separation system to two of its plants in the US.
The project saw the installation of the company’s non-linear model predictive control system for the
optimisation of industrial processes – Plantegrity – and the installation of its monitoring and plant historian system PlantstreamerPortal. Ciengis says this was one of the first installations of non-linear model predictive control applied to the production of biodiesel. The main result was a significant reduction in the utility consumption which saw a full investment return in less than a year. l
The systems, to be supplied by ICM, will be deployed in Illinois and Indiana with the aim of maximising the recovery of nonfood grade bio-oil from emulsion concentrate.
‘We will collaborate with Abengoa to deliver corn oil extraction technology and support corn oil’s expansion into higher-value co-products. The investment in our technology affirms our shared vision of pursuing sustainable development efforts for the global renewable energy industry,’ says ICM director of sales Brock Beach. Installation of the two corn oil extraction systems is expected later this year. l
BDR issued US patent for biodiesel technology Ottowa-based clean energy technology company Biodiesel Reactor Technologies (BDR) has received a patent for its biodiesel reactor technology. The US patent, entitled ‘Apparatus and Method for Biofuels Production’, covers the commercial application of BDR’s ceramic membrane reactor
technology for the production of biodiesel and Fatty Acid Acyl Esters. Invented by Andre Tremblay and Marc Dube of the University of Ottawa, the technology is compatible with existing conventional plant technologies and can be used for either new plants or to retrofit existing ones. It is suitable for virgin oils such as soya, canola and rapeseed and high free fatty acid containing feedstock, used cooking oils, yellow grease, waste
corn oil and jatropha, as well as next generation feedstocks including algae oils. ‘The US patent extends intellectual property protection for BDR’s membrane reactor technology into the world’s second largest biodiesel market,’ says Ken Lawless, CEO of BDR Technologies. Patents relating to this technology have been issued in Singapore, Malaysia and China and are pending in South America, the EU, Canada and other parts of Asia. l
18 march/april 2013 biofuels international