Creating a Bio-refinery Based Creating a Bio-refinery Based on Pulping Technologyon Pulping TechnologyDon Guay – Don Guay – Dept. of Paper Science & EngineeringDept. of Paper Science & Engineering
Eric Singsaas Eric Singsaas – Dept of Biology– Dept of Biology
UW – Stevens PointUW – Stevens Point
Biofuel barriers
•Feedstock
•Grains are not a long-term solution
•Cellulosic feedstocks must come from many sources
•Cellulose processing
•Low cellulose hydrolysis yield
•Cellulase enzymes are costly
•Requires caustic and energy-intensive pretreatment
•Many steps required for bioprocessing
•Products (ethanol)
•Low energy density compared with petroleum fuels
•Corrosive
•Transport issues
•Market saturation
Lee R Lynd, Mark S Laser, David Bransby, Bruce E Dale, Brian Davison, Richard Hamilton, Michael Himmel, Martin Keller, James D McMillan, John Sheehan & Charles E Wyman Nature Biotechnology 26, 169 - 172 (2008)doi:10.1038/nbt0208-169
AvailabilityAvailability
Existing forest harvestExisting forest harvest 142 million tons142 million tons
Residues and Residues and non-marketable biomassnon-marketable biomass 226 million tons226 million tons
Incompletely pulped materialIncompletely pulped material 1-10 tons/day per mill1-10 tons/day per mill
MiscanthusMiscanthus potential yield potential yield 10-15 tons/acre (UIUC)10-15 tons/acre (UIUC)6-10 tons/acre (ORNL)6-10 tons/acre (ORNL)
Unrecyclable paperUnrecyclable paper
Softwood pulpSoftwood pulp
Hardwood pulpHardwood pulp
Corn stoverCorn stover
MiscanthusMiscanthus grass grass
http://www.energy.iastate.edu/becon/tour/tourimages/02-corn_stover.jpg
SSFSSF
Size Size reductionreduction
Remove Remove HemicellulosHemicellulos
ee
Remove Remove LigninLignin CatalystCatalyst FermentationFermentationEnzymatic Enzymatic
HydrolysisHydrolysis
Direct Bioproduction of Energy-Rich Direct Bioproduction of Energy-Rich Fuels Fuels This breakthrough, high-payoff opportunity focuses on microbes for direct production of hydrophobic alternative fuels (i.e., alkanes, longer-chain alcohols, and fatty acids). This would overcome one limitation of nearly all bioconversions—they result in dilute aqueous mixtures. Typical industrial product concentrations are 100 to 150 g/L for ethanol and other such products as organic acids. This limitation imposes separation requirements that increase process and energy costs. New fermentation systems would be highly desirable to allow significant increases in product concentration, new types of products, and new processes for product recovery. Strong increases in efficiency also could be achieved by developing continuous processes.
U.S. DOE. 2006. Breaking the Biological Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol: A Joint Research Agenda, DOE/SC/EE-0095, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, http://doegenomestolife.org/biofuels/.. Adapted from M. Himmel and J. Sheehan, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
EthanolEthanol Methyl- butenolMethyl- butenol IsopreneIsoprene
FormulaFormula CC22HH66OO CC55HH1010OO CC55HH88
Water solubilityWater solubilitymol mmol m-3-3 ∞∞ 11701170 11.711.7
Henry’s law coeff.Henry’s law coeff.Pa mPa m33 mol mol-1-1 0.5070.507 1.561.56 77807780
KKO/WO/W
mol molmol mol-1-1 0.490.49 17.817.8 263263
Energy contentEnergy contentBTU galBTU gal-1-1 85,00085,000 106,000106,000 135,000135,000
TTboil boil (°C / °F)(°C / °F) 78.4 / 17378.4 / 173 98.6 / 20998.6 / 209 33.9 / 92.933.9 / 92.9
Potential UsesPotential Uses FuelFuel FuelFuel Rubber productsRubber productsPharmaceuticalsPharmaceuticals
*BTU/gal. Gasoline energy content ranges 111,000-125,000
Tomohisa KUZUYAMA, “Mevalonate and Nonmevalonate Pathways for the Biosynthesis of Isoprene Units”, Biosci.
Biotechnol. Biochem., Vol. 66, 1619-1627 (2002) .
Glucose
Methyl butenol
IsopreneispS
MBO synthase
The MEP pathway
2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate
StructureStructure ClassClass ExampleExample UsesUses
C5C5 HemiterpeneHemiterpene IsopreneIsoprene Industrial ?Industrial ?
C5+OC5+O HemiterpenoidHemiterpenoid Methyl butenolMethyl butenol Biofuel ?Biofuel ?
C10C10 MonoterpeneMonoterpene ß-pineneß-pinene
C10+OC10+O MonoterpenoidMonoterpenoid Pyrethrin -IPyrethrin -I PesticidePesticide
C15 (+O)C15 (+O) SesquiterpeneSesquiterpene GossypolGossypol Male contraceptiveMale contraceptive
Modified sesquiterpenoidModified sesquiterpenoid ArtemisininArtemisinin Anti-malarial drugAnti-malarial drug
C20 (+O)C20 (+O) Diterpenoids (modified)Diterpenoids (modified) TaxolTaxol Anti-cancerAnti-cancer
C30 (+O)C30 (+O) TriterpenoidsTriterpenoids PhytosterolsPhytosterols Nutrient/medicalNutrient/medical
C40C40 TetraterpenoidsTetraterpenoids ß-caroteneß-caroteneLycopeneLycopene NutrientNutrient
Isoprenoids & their potential uses
Enabling technologies
•Metabolic control analysis of the MEP pathway
•Synthetic MEP pathway operon
•MBO synthase gene
•Bioreactor experiments
InputsInputsWaste paper and Mill sludgeWaste paper and Mill sludge
Papermill pulpPapermill pulp
Energy cropsEnergy crops
Forest productsForest products
StoverStover
ProductsProductsMethyl butenolMethyl butenol
IsopreneIsoprene
EthanolEthanolOther products?Other products?
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/besd/highlights.shtmlAccessed 11-15-07
Research in progress – Benchtop
•Pulping
•Optimize catalyst and enzyme dosage
•Analyze product streams
•Develop microorganisms
•Consolidate bioprocessing
•Economic analysis