2008-2011 business plan - alberta, canada
TRANSCRIPT
David C. Bressler Executive Director/ Professor
Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
How will we convert biomass into value add products?
The Opportunity • From an economy based largely on
petroleum to a more diversified economy in which renewable plant biomass will become a significant feedstock for both fuel and chemical production
Source: Photo http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/environmentandenergy/greencrude.jpg
What are the key biological molecules?
Fats and oils
Carbohydrates and sugars
Proteins and amino acids
Forest Products Canada
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“We are researching the technology and the future of bio-products and all the preliminary indications are that there is going to be a very robust bio-energy and bio-product market coming out of the forest, but it’s going to be integrated into the wood, pulp and paper industry instead of replacing it.”
Avrim Lazar, 2009 President and CEO of the Forest Products
Association of Canada
Industry Vision & Outlook
Alberta Bioindustry Forestry
Petrochemical
Agriculture
Oil & Gas
Bioindustrial Sector
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Industrial Infrastructure Alberta Scenario - Pipeline
SO: Center for Energy (2010)
The Alberta “hub” includes 392,608 kilometres of pipeline that deliver oil and gas to markets in Canada and the U.S (Alberta Energy)
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•Major investment initiatives highlight the seriousness of this industry:
• July, 2009 Exxon Mobil announces US$ 600 million in funding to support Algae research with Synthetic Genomics, Inc (SGI). to develop, test, and produce biofuels from photosynthetic algae •British Petroleum invested $500 million over 10 years in the US in the Energy Biosciences Institute. Partners in the project are the University of California Berkeley, the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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Engagement of The Giants
Building Material
Renewable diesel
Nano Crystalline Cellulose
Aircraft Fuels
Cellulosic Ethanol
Bio Plastics
Methanol Textiles
Renewable Tires using
Lignin
Bio Active
Paper & Packs
Bio Pharmaceuticals
Bio Oils
Food Additives
Emerging Forest Products
The Alberta Biomaterials Development Centre • A $15 million dollar provincial initiative to develop biomaterials sector • Mandate for product development & commercialization • Investment attraction and market development focus • Connect new biomaterial markets to natural plant-based feedstocks from agriculture and forestry. Ie supply chain integrator
Sustainable Resource Development
Agriculture & Rural Development
Alberta Innovates Technology Futures
Business Development/ Technical Capacity
Business Development/ Technical Capacity
ABDC Business Development
Stereotype Visions • We will replace petroleum • We will augment petroleum • We will get policy that will
impose us on petroleum • We will find a niche
(where they can’t find us)
Source: Top photo, Syncrude, 2010 13
BCN Mission • Develop “drop-in” chemicals and
products that support Alberta’s nonrenewable sector
• Renewable products to service the industry
• Compatible with petroleum products • Hydrocarbon fuels, non-oxygenates o Integrate into existing infrastructure
• Alberta has already
invested billions in oil and gas infrastructure Source: Top photo, Syncrude, 2010 14
BCN Mission OR •How do we best use our solar energy units per hectare of land to best meet our needs for food, materials, energy and …
Source: Top photo, Syncrude, 2010 15
BCN at a glance • Inclusive research network based out
of the U of Alberta • Funded by AI Bio Corp. (C$ 3 million
over 3 years, then $4+M 2012 onward) • Focused on biomass conversions,
developed to bridge the gap between feedstock processing and product distribution to accelerate the commercialization process
BCN (1.0) Core Research
BIOMASS PRE-PROCESSING & SEPARATIONS
LIPIDS
PROTEINS
FIBRE
STARCH
BIOACTIVES
THERMAL CONVERSIONS
CHEMICAL CONVERSIONS
BIOLOGICAL CONVERSIONS
DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING
BIOENERGY & BIOFUELS
CHEMICALS & SOLVENTS
BIOMATERIALS &BIOPLASTICS
COSMETICS & PERSONAL CARE
FOODS & NUTRACEUTICALS
• Core research focuses on biorefining conversions • Four research themes
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Jack Saddler FPB Bioenergy
UBC
CHAIR: Brad Anderson Executive Director
Alberta Chamber of Resources
Stan Blade CEO, AI Bio Solutions
Ken Chapman Executive Director,
Oil Sands Developers Group
Eddy Isaacs CEO, AI Energy
and Environment
Steve Price Executive Director
AI Bio Solutions
John Kennelly Dean, U of A
Faculty of ALES
David Bressler Executive Director
Norm Dreger Head, Business Development,
Syngenta
Ray Miller CBO Verdezyne Inc.
Donald Smith Professor McGill
Director BIOFUELNET
David Layzell Executive Director,
ISEEE
BCN (2.0) Strategic Advisory Board
BCN: Collaboration with Alberta Forest Product Roadmap Firms
Forest-Derived Fly Ash
Upgrading
Standardization of Lignocellulosic
Fractions
Lignocellulosic Separations
Tall Oils to Fuels
Terpenes
Theme Objectives Biomass Pre-processing and Logistics • Inventory and standardization of resources Biocatalysis and Fermentation • Synbio enabled systems for • Supporting industry (optimization) Green Chemistry for Fuels and Chemicals • Routes to biomass derived platform chemicals and
monomers for materials production • Industry Support • Assembly and testing systems for renewable plastics,
adhesives and biocomposites
Green Chemistry for Fuels & Chemicals
Program 3
Supercritical Fluids: Extracting Gels from
Lignocellulosic Biomass
Polysaccharides for Naphthenic Acid Extraction from
Tailings
Bioaldehyde Production
from Plant Oils
Tailings Flocculants from Agricultural Waste
Proteins
Biocatalysis & Fermentation
Biopolymers from C1
Substrates
Synbio Manucturing of High-Value Phenylalanine-
derived Specialty Chemicals
Accelerated Biodensification
of Tailings
High-Value Fatty
Alcohols
Strain Variant Engineering
HT Strain Engineering
Molecular Biology
Automation
Software DNA Assembly
BUILD
Industrial Example: LS9
Synthetic biology + industrial biotechnology = industrial microbes that efficiently convert renewable feedstocks to a portfolio of "drop in compatible" hydrocarbon-based fuels Genetically control the structure and function of its fuels = portfolio of products
Taken from http://www.ls9.com/technology/
Alberta Biofoundry: THREE MAJOR THRUSTS
(...to demonstrate near-term industrial relevance) The Alberta BioFoundry will focus initially on three major thrusts of collaborative R&D activities, aligned to Western Canada’s strategic resource industries with global market mandates:
Hydrocarbon Applications, including the value-generating potential of reduced environmental impacts and sustainable development of Western Canada’s energy and mineral resources;
Bioindustrial Processes & Products, serving the region’s forest and agricultural industries; and
Industrial & Municipal Waste/Water Applications, driving innovation in municipal waste/water & industrial water treatment technologies for regional application and global export.
BCN Highlights Regional Connections Alberta Rural Municipalities
• Ft McMurray • Drayton Valley : Bio-Mile • High Level • Grande Prairie • Peace River • Clearwater County
• Urban Centers
Industry-Driven Partnership for Value-Chain Optimization,
Economic Expansion and Enhanced Environmental Performance
... OTHERS WELCOME!!
Background (Agriculture Forestry)
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• About a third to half portion of animals slaughtered is inedible and unmarketable directly
• Unmarketable tissues uuuurendering plants
Unmarketable tissue
Size reduction
Heating Pressing
Fat + Water Press cake (Protein meal)
Rendering process before BSE
Animal
feed
Soap, oleochemicals
• BSE – “mad cow disease” caused by prions • Prions concentrate in tissues- Specified Risk Material (SRM)
SRM in cattle (CFIA, 2009) 31
Enhanced feed ban (2007)
• Meat and bone meal and blood meal only for non-ruminant feed – reduced value
• SRM is removed from: – Animal feed including pet foods , fertilizer application
http://biorefinex/SRM.com
Enhanced feed ban http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Landfill_Hawaii.jp
g 32
• SRM constitutes about 300,000 tonnes/year (2009) in Canada
• Tipping and disposal fees of about $70 - 200/tonne • Prions are resistant to conventional
decontamination CFIA approved methods of SRM handling/disposal
– Landfill/ burial (containment) – used in Canada – Incineration and Gasification – Thermal hydrolysis – Alkaline hydrolysis
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Hydrolysis
Alkaline •150 °C, 65 psi •180 min •15% (w/v) NaOH solution
SRM
2L batch reactor Thermal •180°C, 174 psi •40 min •Water
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Chemical modification
• Chemical Crosslinking – the process of joining two or more polymer chains by covalent bonds
• Utilizing functional groups of proteins (-NH2, -COOH, -OH, -SH, -C=O)
Linear
Crosslinked polymer
Source: http://www.mcponline.org/
Crosslinking reagents –patents filed • Glyoxal, glutaraldehyde • Benzaldehdye • Carbodiimide • Hydroxysuccinmide • Resorcinol • Epoxy resin
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Fina
l ene
rgy
(EJ)
IEA Biofuel Roadmap (Saddler 2012)
Vegetable Oil
Sugar and Starch
Ligno-cellulosics
Wet Biomass
Transesterification
Hydrolysis – Fermentation Distillation
Pyrolysis – Hydrogenation
Fisher-Tropsch
Pelletization
Gasification
Anaerobic Fermentation
Bio-diesel
Ethanol-ETBE
Hydrocarbons
Flue Gas
Biogas
Pellets
Bio- electricity
Bio- heating
Transport Fuels
Com
bustion
Feedstock Conversion Products
Bioenergy Pathways for conversion of biomass
BioFuelNet Canada
Feedstocks Conversion Utilization West BFN Platform
Prairies BFN Platform
Central BFN Platform
East BFN Platform
Social, Economic and Environmental Sustainability (SEES)
Who’s Involved
• 82 researchers • 22 Universities
– McGill hosting
• 40 industry partners • > 100 partners overall • Wide range of national and international
contacts
Lipid Technologies Biodiesel - Concerns • Water retention • Solvency • Stability
• Oxidative, thermal • Cold Flow Properties
Source: Bottom photo, Agriculture Renewable Diesel Demonstration, 2009 10
Alternative Lipid Technologies Green Diesel • Triglyceride hydrogenation
• Ex) Neste NexBTLTM UOP EcofiningTM
•Commercial facilities in operating in Europe
•Expected to start making market impact in 2015 and beyond (Hart Consulting, 2009)
Source: Flow diagram UOP, 2010
Lipid Technologies Green Diesel – Field Trials • 10% lower NOx emissions than conventional diesel • 30% lower particulate emissions • 35% lower carbon monoxide emissions • 40% lower total hydrocarbon (THC) emissions
• No engine modifications needed or changes to fuel
distribution systems. • Good cold start performance, • No negative impact on engine lubricants. Source: www.nesteoil.com
Pyrolysis Green diesel
STEARIC ACID
Lower molecular weight hydrocarbons
n-Heptadecane
CO2 1. Decarboxylation
2. Cracking (numerous free radical reactions)
THERMAL ENERGY
THERMAL ENERGY
OH
O
NSERC Funded Discovery Research
Micro Batch Reactions
• 15 ml stainless steel microreactors heated in a fluidized sand bath
Sandbath System and Microreactor 16
Hydrocarbons from Lipids Simplified Process Flow
Lipid Feed Triglycerides
Liquid Product Deoxygenated Hydrocarbons
Water
Water/Glycerol
Free Fatty Acids
Gas Product
Solid Product
Hydrolysis Reactor
Pyrolysis Reactor
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GC-FID chromatogram of hardwood tall oil liquid pyrolysis product (410 °C, 2 h, initial pressure of atmospheric pressure under N2)
Process Development – Scale-Up • Scale-up, design and optimization of a 1L CSTR
o heated feed tank and pumping system o rated 500°C and 5000 PSIG
GC-MS chromatogram of continuous pyrolysis product from canola oil fatty acids
Liquid Product Optimization… But what does it look like?