The sunliquid -process: Cellulosic Ethanol from Agricultural Residues Dr. Irina Sterr Business Development Manager Central R&D, Süd-Chemie AG Paris, March 15, 2012 1
CRD s Dedicated Biotech R&D Sites with a Green Strategy Key facts: Located in Munich and Straubing (Bavaria) Start in 2006, 60 Employees in 2011 Lab and office space: 3.300 m² Demonstration plant: 2.500 m² Green strategy at CRD Renewable feedstock as the basis for sustainable production of biofuels and green chemicals Biotechnology as part of a strong technology platform in renewable products 2
The way to competitive cellulosic ethanol Feedstock Pre-treatment Hydrolysis Fermentation Cellulosic Ethanol process integrated enzyme production Complete process including enzyme production Feedstock and process specific enzyme development C 6 and C 5 fermentation Energy saving ethanol separation 3
Challenges for cellulosic ethanol production High process yields Low operating costs Low investment costs Sustainable process 4
Challenges for cellulosic ethanol production - process solutions High process yields All sugars to ethanol Low operating costs Low investment costs Sustainable process 5
Up to 50% increase in process yield By using advanced fermentation strains, all sugars in the feedstock are converted to ethanol in one go. C 6 + C 5 usage (example: wheat straw) Rest Cellulose Energy Lignin Xylan 50% higher ethanol yield Proprietary process and strain developed! 6
Challenges for cellulosic ethanol production - process solutions High process yields All sugars to ethanol Feedstock specific reaction conditions Feedstock optimized enzymes Low operating costs Low investment costs Sustainable process 7
Technology expertise - Screening Set up of fully automated ultra high throughput screening Evaluation of up to 100,000 samples per day Unique setup, highly specialized for optimization of enzymes and microorganisms Large spectrum of assay formats possible 8
Optimizing expression yield on feedstock as substrate Enzymes are feedstock optimized and deliver superior yields Optimized productivity Thermostable enzymes tolerate higher process temperatures which leads to higher process stability Benchmark for Cellulase production SC strains with optimized Cellulase expression on biomass as feedstock ~800% higher productivity than benchmark strains 9
Yield telated to glucan fraction [%] Varying performance on different substrates SCAG_1 SCAG_3 SCAG_2 SCAG_4 Competitor SCAG_2 and wheat straw 90% 85% Test substrate 87% 80% 75% 65% 76% 72% 70% 65% 61% 60% 55% 50% 52% 48h Feedstock specific enzyme systems are needed! 10
Challenges for cellulosic ethanol production - process solutions High process yields Low operating costs All sugars to ethanol Feedstock specific reaction conditions Feedstock optimized enzymes Integrated enzyme production Low investment costs Sustainable process 11
Advantages of process integrated enzyme production Low substrate cost Enzymes are produced on lignocellulosic substrate. No additional utilities needed Process integrated No formulation and logistics Enzymes are produced directly where they are needed Process integrated production of enzymes is the most cost efficient way and leads to independence from enzyme suppliers. 12
Challenges for cellulosic ethanol production - process solutions High process yields Low operating costs All sugars to ethanol Feedstock specific reaction conditions Feedstock optimized enzymes Integrated enzyme production No external energy required Low investment costs Sustainable process 13
Energy consumption Low energy consumption in DSP 120% 100% New ethanol separation process with very low energy consumption 80% 60% 40% Based on Süd-Chemie technology Patented process and material 20% 0% Standard DSP 2G SC Technology SC Technology optimized With the innovative Süd-Chemie separation process up to 50% of energy can be saved in DSP. 14
Challenges for cellulosic ethanol production - process solutions High process yields Low operating costs All sugars to ethanol Feedstock specific reaction conditions Feedstock optimized enzymes Integrated enzyme production No external energy required Low investment costs Proven (bio)chemical process technology All scalable to production scale Sustainable process 15
Challenges for cellulosic ethanol production - process solutions High process yields Low operating costs All sugars to ethanol Feedstock specific reaction conditions Feedstock optimized enzymes Integrated enzyme production No external energy required Low investment costs Proven (bio)chemical process technology All scalable to production scale Sustainable process No Food-or-Feed issue Ethanol is nearly Carbon neutral Process is energy self sufficient 16
Sustainable cellulosic ethanol Process works flexible for different renewable feedstocks Production costs will be competitive to 1 st generation bioethanol Energy neutral: No additional fossil energy needed Nearly carbon neutral: GHG emissions reductions of about 95% compared to fossil fuels Domestic fuel production: More independence from fossil fuels Creation of green jobs and income for rural areas and agricultural industry No Food for Fuel competition and no additional land use The technology is mature and ready for commercialization. 17
From the field to the tank 1 hectare wheat 4-5 tons of straw 1 ton of ethanol 18
Demonstrationsanlage Pilot Plant: In operation since 02/2009 Demonstration Plant: In commissioning, start of operation II.Q 2012 Production Plant: Partnering 19
Business model of Süd-Chemie AG for commercialization Süd-Chemie will offer sunliquid -process licenses to interested parties. A sunliquid license includes: Integrated process technology package including proprietary, energy saving ethanol separation technology Starter cultures for process integrated production of enzymes Starter cultures for the proprietary fermentation organism which converts C 5 and C 6 to ethanol 20
Next steps: There s more! Cn-platform concept Hemicellulose Cellulose Lignin Energy Lignocellulose Feedstock C n -Chemistry Process and product examples, conceptual presentation 21
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