Ethanol Production from Corn Kernel Fiber lowers the carbon footprint of existing ethanol plants....
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Transcript of Ethanol Production from Corn Kernel Fiber lowers the carbon footprint of existing ethanol plants....
Federal: 1997 Farm Bill, $14 million appropriation under the Research Title.
State: 1997, Capital Grant of $7 million, administered by Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity.
Ground Broken: October, 2001
Doors Opened: October 2003
Our
Creation
Our
Mission
• To facilitate the commercialization of new technologies for producing biofuels more effectively!
• To utilize our relationships with government, industry, academia and trade to conduct both private sector and grant funded research!
• To advocate, educate and motivate consumers and elected officials on the benefits of biofuels.
• To develop and provide hands-on training to prepare the biofuels workforce of tomorrow!
Service Capabilities
Pilot Testing:
4 x 6,000 gal fermentors
“Plug and play” configuration
Front-end dry-grind fractionation
Fermentation Suite: 30-150-1500 L sterilizable vessels
Integrated with Pilot Plant and Lab
Pretreatment capabilities
Laboratory Fermentation: 0.1 to 5 L
Fully equipped QA/QC lab
• Illinois Department of Agriculture • Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity • United States Department of Agriculture • United States Department of Energy • United States Department of Labor • Private Sector • Trade Organizations
Opportunities for Collaborative Partnerships!
Human nutrition
Fat/oil analysis
Cellulosic ethanol
Advanced biofuels
Quality assurance and control
Process optimization
Feedstock characterization
Our Efforts
Specialty chemicals
Process scaleup
Bioprocessing
Proof of concept
Grain fractionation
Commercialization of New Technologies
Ten years later …………
Hands-on Training and Education
More than 50 technologies that have passed through our doors are now in the commercial marketplace.
58/62 interns went directly to work in the private sector.
93% of NCERC’s 600 workforce development trainees are now employed in the biofuels, chemical, and petroleum industries.
Ethanol Is Not New
Lincoln, Nebraska
1933
Renewable Fuels Standard
Presidential Signing: On Wednesday December 19, 2007 President George W. Bush signed into law the: “Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007”.
Highlights of the Energy Bill: 36 billion gallons of Renewable Fuels by the Year 2022:
1. 15 billion gallons of ethanol derived from corn.
2. 21 billion gallons of advanced & cellulosic biofuels.
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EPA Staff Deliberative Draft: Do not cite, quote, or distribute 11
Advanced Biofuels Initiative
Enabling NCERC to pursue research projects in the advanced biofuels space
Cellulosic Feedstocks
Corn Cobs
Switch Grass
Sugar Cane
Woody Biomass Stover Wood Chips
Cellulosic Feedstocks
Corn Fiber
Cellulosic ethanol from corn right here, right now!
Why study corn kernel
fiber?
Other Reasons…
Cellulosic material is already at the ethanol plant
The industrial infrastructure is already in place
It increases the yields up to 5-10% per bushel of corn.
It lowers the carbon footprint of existing ethanol plants.
New value-added co-products will become available
It is a bridge to new technologies!
Work at NCERC: Timeline
2007-2008: Steam activation, characterization*
2008-2009: Chemical pretreatment , characterization*
2009-2010: Pretreatment, viscosity and enzymatic hydrolysis tests*
2011: Recombinant yeast evolution
2011-2013: Corn fiber fermentations (1-150L)*
*By Specific Cooperative Agreement with the USDA
Scale Up Results: 30 L
Corn fiber feedstock
Unmodified S. Cerevisiae
Ethanol Yield: 8% of corn fermentation
Conversion efficiency: 97% (no xylose)
Scale Up Results: 150 L
EVG-51 on pure corn fiber (<8% starch)
Fermentation complete after 48 hours
100% glucose, 72% xylose consumed
Current goals
Feedstock tests
Corn fiber corn mash
Front-end vs. back-end
Process optimization
Reproducibility
Scale-up
Yeast Strain Selection
Summary of Cellulosic Ethanol
Demonstrated reproducible scale-up
Achieved full conversion of sugars in as low as 48 hours
Utilized both natural and modified S.Cerevisiae
Corn mash conversion consistent with corn fiber results
Ability to identify starch vs. cellulose contribution to yield
Process under provisional patent
Acknowledgements
IL Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Illinois Corn Marketing Board
Specific Cooperative Agreement with U.S. Department of Agriculture
For more information, contact:
John Caupert Executive Director
618-659-6737 ext. 226 [email protected]
