New cellulose-to-sugar technology increases conversion rates and efficiencies

Alliance BioEnergy Plus (ABEP) has announced that its subsidiary Ek Laboratories in Longwood, Florida, US, has achieved 63% conversion of coastal hay into fermentable sugars at a commercial scale in less than 30 minutes.

The process, developed under the direction of Dr. Richard Blair, Dr. Peter Cohen, and Dr. Zhilin Xie, uses ABEP’s licensed and patented mechanical/chemical cellulose to sugar (CTS) process.

Unlike other cellulose to sugar technologies, the CTS process does not use liquid acids, applied heat or pressure, enzymes, super critical waters, expensive precious metal-lined equipment, or any hazardous materials.

The CTS process can convert virtually any cellulose material and uses a simple and inexpensive mechanical process that converts the cellulose into fermentable sugars and other valuable products in a single step in just minutes, not hours or days as with traditional technologies.

The process could mean that highly valuable cellulose sugars will be available for ethanol, diesel, and other biofuel manufacturers and blenders at a commercial scale for the first time at a cost that makes them profitable without government subsidy.

‘We have completely redesigned and custom-manufactured the mill and went from 1g in the lab to a mill capable of processing 2,500kg a day in a single leap, while seeing the efficiency and conversion rates increase and energy consumption decrease,’ says Dr. Peter Cohen, director of analytics at Ek Labs.

‘Unlike traditional chemical processes or industrial scaling, this is a mechanical process where the chemistry happens thousands of times at a micro scale by a kinetic process, therefore aided by size and increased impact pressure,’ he continues.

Cohen also says the process should see 70% to 80% conversion rates by the time the first commercial plant for sub-licensee RRDA is finished in early 2016.

The RRDA plant currently being designed and located in southeast Georgia will process 1,000 tonnes a day of yellow pine and Vidalia onion waste.

At the current 63% conversion rate, a CTS plant – whether licensed or company owned – processing 1,000 tonnes a day of virtually any biomass should collect in excess of $84 million (appr. €74.9 million) of revenue from the sale of cellulose sugars at the lowest market rate, which translates into more than $35 million in net profit each year per plant.

This calculation doesn’t include the sale or further processing of the pure lignin, which is the only by-product of the CTS process and has a value higher than the sugars.

Existing plants can be converted to the CTS process and eliminate several steps in the production of ethanols, diesels, alcohols, and other fermentable products at a lower cost.