Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) is a not-for-profit organization with the goal of helping Ontario and Canada become globally recognized leaders in the field of sustainable technologies. In 2016, BIC established the Center for Commercialization of Sustainable Chemistry Innovation (COMM SCI) initiative program, which acts as a hub for the commercialization of sustainable chemistry and bio-based innovation. BIC announced the approval of a COMM SCI project with Benefuel, a renewable energy company that utilizes its patented ENSEL catalyst technology to produce a low-carbon intensity biodiesel from a variety of food and agriculture waste streams, with high yields.

Benefuel’s catalytic process ENSEL combines esterification of free fatty acids (FFA) and transesterification of triglycerides into a single process step—a long-standing technology goal of the biodiesel and oleochemical industries. Solving these challenge significantly expands feedstock options, simplifies the refining process and enables a cost structure competitive with petroleum products.

Benefuel’s process is engineered as a true continuous flow process (instead of a batch process), much like a commercial petroleum or petro-chemical refinery. This affords lower CAPEX and OPEX on projects and positions Benefuel as the low-cost producer in the industry.

The purpose of this COMM SCI project is to support a Front-End Engineering Design (“FEED”) study for a 75 million liter (~20 million gallons US), novel biodiesel plant to be located in Sarnia, Ontario.

The execution of this project will provide Benefuel with a well-defined, modular engineering design that can be replicated and constructed by a wide-range of fabricators. The modular design will reduce costs, accelerate development, improve quality and lower the overall risk of execution.

The COMM SCI funding will enable Benefuel to complete a larger amount of engineering in its FEED study, which will provide a higher degree of certainty and accuracy in its project costing. Our refining package will provide for the processing of a wide variety of low carbon and waste feedstocks like distiller’s corn oil, used cooking oil and animal fats.W

e are excited to be establishing a modular design for our technology that will allow us to efficiently expand our production in other locations in Canada, the US and abroad. In addition to the investment in Benefuel equity and the project related COMM SCI funding, BIC have been an excellent partner and resource in the development of our project in Sarnia.

—Rob Tripp, Chief Executive Officer of Benefuel