1. © 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC
Repurposing the Past An Historical Lesson for the Biorefinery of the Future
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC

2. Biorefinery of the Future
Five to ten year outlook
Newset technologies are unlikely to be included
Only well-established technologies will be considered
TRL 8+, FEL-3 cost estimates
High value products
Low to medium risk technology
EtOH industry not known for taking chances
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC

3. Oil Production History
First commercial (drilled) oil well
Drake Oil Well
Source: Library of Congress
First commercial catalytic cracker
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_catalytic_cracking
Production Growth
1859
1915
1862
First oil refinery (kerosene)
Standard Oil Refinery A, Richmond, CA, 1914
Credit: Richmond Public Library
1909
Motor fuels exceed kerosene production
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC

4. Ethanol Production History
US Gov’t incentivizes ethanol production
1979
Clean Air Act Amended
1992
Today
Production Growth
2018
1975
US Begins phasing out TE Lead
1980s
Oxygenates include MTBE and ETBE
2000s
MTBE replaced by ethanol
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC

5. Fuel Ethanol Market Today
Values are Decreasing
Fuel Ethanol Market Today
31 States past Blend Wall
Production Forecast Flat
Source: US EIA
Prices are low and steady
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC

6. © 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC
Sugar to Bioproducts
Divert sugar to produce small volume, high value molecules
Corn
Sugar Cane
Sugars
Fermentation
Fuel Ethanol
New Molecules
Cleanup
Fermentation
Sugar
Potential for clean sugars for add’l product or J/V
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC

7. Potential Molecules ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C. Chemical Type
Source: From the Sugar Platform to biofuels and biochemicals (2015). European Commission Directorate-General Energy
Chemical
Type
Conversion Pathway
TRL Level (commodity feedstocks)
Butadiene (1,3-)
Drop-in
BC–Biological TC/BC–Gasification/Fermentation 6
Butanediol (1,4-)
BC–Biological 8
Ethyl Lactate
Functional 9
Fatty Alcohols
TC–Gasification, BC–Biological, Algae
Furfural
TC–Pyrolysis, BC–Catalytic
Glycerol
Algae
Isoprene
Lactic Acid
Propanediol (1,3-)
Propylene Glycol
Succinic Acid
Xylene (para)
BC–Catalytic TC–Pyrolysis
Source: Chemicals from Biomass: A Market Assessment of Bioproducts with Near-Term Potential (2016, NREL/TP )
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8. © 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC
Examples
DuPont Tate & Lyle [Loudon, TN] – 1,3-propanediol
Prairie Catalytic/Greenyug –
ethanol → ethyl acetate + hydrogen
Cargill [Blair, NE]
Evonik – lysine
Natureworks – polylactic acid
Corbion – lactic acid
Evolva – stevia
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC

9. © 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC
Challenges
Clean sugar streams
Cooling capacity, utilities
Footprint
New technologies (e.g. sterile fermentation, reactive distillation, etc.)
Development of expertise
Market acceptance
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC

10. © 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC
Opportunities
Joint ventures / bolt-on partners
Diversify risk
Increase profits
Room for growth
Cheaper than cellulosic sugars
Can take advantage of advances in synthetic biology, new organisms in the future to further diversify
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC

11. © 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC
Thank You
Daniel Lane, Ph.D.
ABLC 2018, Washington, D. C.
© 2018, Saille Consulting, LLC