Cobalt demonstrates biomass pretreatment process

Developer of next generation n-butanol, Cobalt Technologies, has successfully demonstrated its biomass pretreatment process.

The dilute acid hydrolysis pretreatment process, which is the initial step for converting sugars into n-butanol, was tested in cooperation with Andritz, supplier of technologies, equipment and plants for pulp and paper industries. The process, which extracts sugars from ligno-cellulosic biomass, was validated on woody biomass, bagasse and agricultural residues.

The demonstration illustrates major progress towards the goal of commercial scale production. 'Demonstrating our high-yield pretreatment process is a key milestone for Cobalt as we prove that our n-butanol technology will efficiently work at commercial scale and at an attractive low cost,' says Bob Mayer, CEO of Cobalt Technologies.

The Andritz pulp and paper mill demonstration facility in Springfield is specifically designed to validate new processes before commercial-scale implementation and was the location of the recent testing.

Cobalt's pre-treatment process was tested on both a batch and continuous basis, proving both its flexibility and efficiency. These runs processed up to 20 bone-dry tons of biomass per day and successfully extracted sugars from the biomass to produce liquid hydrolysate, without the use of enzymes. Liquid hydrolysate is a liquid-based sugar that can be converted into n-butanol.

'By proving we can meet, and in some areas, exceed our commercial targets and cost metrics at this scale, we are now well positioned to leverage this critical milestone to support our on-going commercialization efforts,' says Mayer.

This marks the first phase of Cobalt's partnership with specialty chemical company, Rhodia, which will see the development of bio n-butanol refineries throughout Latin America using bagasse as a feedstock.