Co-production of electricity and ethanol from biomass.

Informations projet

N° de convention de subvention: JOR3987049

Projet clôturé

Date de début 1 Juin 1999

Date de fin 31 Mai 2001

Financé au titre de

• Specific programme for research and technological development, including demonstration in the field of non-nuclear energy, 1994-1998

Coût total Aucune donnée

Contribution de l’UE Aucune donnée

Coordonné par

Agrol Ltd.
United Kingdom

Résultats exploitables

Co-production of electricity and ethanol from biomass

A novel process using biomass for the production of ethanol on the one hand and energy on the other hand has been developed. Potential raw materials are straw, wood, waste wood, waste paper, sugarcane bagasse, domestic waste, wastes from starch processing or other lignocellulosic materials. During the process lignocellulosic material will be partially hydrolysed, yielding hydrolysates rich in sugars derived from hemicellulose and, partially, from cellulose. These sugars will be fermented to ethanol by AGROLs novel microorganism. The remaining solids still have a high burning value and have a low ash contents due to the prior extraction. The low ash contents is particularly important, because the minerals in untreated biomass can cause damage to the boiler equipment. Therefore the material from this process is an excellent feedstock for electricity generation. New equipment for biomass processing has been developed, such as a particle generator, a straw pump, an extracting system, and a superheated steam dryer. Several raw materials have been evaluated on their suitability as a substrate for hydrolysis. The optimal hydrolysis conditions for these raw materials have been determined in batch experiments. A continuous hydrolysis pilot plant has been purchased and modified and can go into operation any time. A thermophilic microorganism was developed, which is able to ferment all the sugars derived from hydrolysis into ethanol. This strain was further improved by identifying the key genes for product formation. Non-sporulation strains with improved ethanol yields were obtained. It has been proved that the AGROL strain is able to grow on hydrolysates and to ferment them into ethanol. Furthermore it could be shown that the strain can produce ethanol from hydrolysates in continuous culture over a long period of time without losing its properties. Additionally, inhibitory compounds in the hydrolysate have been identified and characterised and methods for their removal have been developed. Economic feasibility studies show that this process is viable and measures have already been taken to establish the process or parts of it in an industrial plant. The output of this project will not only make sure to meet the growing demand for fuel ethanol, which can be expected also in Europe, but will at the same time produce electricity and reduce greenhouse gases.