TetraVitae Bioscience demos production of renewable n-butanol from a corn dry-mill
18 December 2010
TetraVitae Bioscience has completed a successful demonstration of its process to produce renewable n-butanol in a corn dry-mill pilot plant. In the demonstration, TetraVitae worked with The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) to retrofit NCERC’s fully integrated corn dry-mill pilot plant to enable it to run TetraVitae’s technology.
n-butanol is an important intermediate in the coatings, plastics, personal care, and packaging industries. In addition, n-butanol and derivatives are promising candidates as diesel blendstocks. Dehydrating n-butanol can produce 1-Butene derivatives, which can then be relatively easily processed to hydrocarbon fuels: via alkylation to gasoline, or via oligomerization to jet fuel and diesel. (Earlier post.)
TetraVitae technology combines a proprietary organism and advanced process engineering. The basis of the technology is Clostridium Beijerinckii BA 101, a mutant (non GMO) organism discovered by Professor Hans Blaschek of the University of Illinois which produces solvents (acetone-butanol-ethanol, ABE) at elevated levels. TetraVitae’s technology captures the economic advantages of BA 101 and enables low capital implementation through retrofit of existing ethanol assets.
The technology performed as expected, according to TetraVitae, producing n-butanol, acetone, and distillers grains, and validated that the production process is economically competitive.
In addition, TetraVitae has demonstrated product purification. Working with the University of Texas in Austin’s Separations Research Program, the company took the raw chemical products produced at NCERC and produced purified n-butanol and acetone in a continuous distillation. The products meet standard chemical industry specifications for solvents.
Resources
Qureshi N, Blaschek HP (2001) Recent advances in ABE fermentation: hyper-butanol producing Clostridium beijerinckii BA101. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 27(5):287-91 doi: 10.1038/sj.jim.7000114
I would rather see them use corn stalks and not corn grain. With gasification you can turn methanol into synthetic gasoline or go from synthesis gas to gasoline.
Posted by: SJC | 18 December 2010 at 10:20 AM
Totally agree. I think the key part of the story is "TetraVitae worked with The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center" - therefore there were no incentives to use other feedstocks.
Posted by: ejj | 18 December 2010 at 08:37 PM
The second half of RFS calls for cellulose. There is a method where natural gas and coal makes ethanol. One way or the other we need to import less oil and we can start with OPEC countries.
Posted by: SJC | 19 December 2010 at 07:36 AM
Totally agree on the cellulistic approach.
Over a century of corn growing experience on Australias depleted soils showed the (wonderful)maize plants huge demand for nutrient. When the fertility was depleted and artificial fertilizers applied, much of the land was destroyed never to recover.
Other areas vis US corn growing areas may find extended productivity as river silts and fantastic natural reserves can cope better, but corn is a high demand crop of the first order.
It is unclear that corn grain ethanol will ever amount to more than a man made disaster.
Posted by: Arnold | 20 December 2010 at 08:36 PM
Very good argument Arnold.
Posted by: HarveyD | 22 December 2010 at 08:59 AM