1. Bioprocessing of Agricultural Feedstocks: Report on Pretreatment for Biomass Refining
Charles E. Wyman, Dartmouth College
Y. Y. Lee, Auburn University
Mohammed Moniruzzaman, Genencor International
Bruce E. Dale, Michigan State University
Tim Eggeman, Neoterics International
Richard T. Elander, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Michael R. Ladisch, Purdue University
Mark T. Holtzapple, Texas A&M University
John N. Saddler, University of British Columbia
Second World Congress on
Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing
Orlando, Florida
April 20, 2005
Biomass Refining CAFI

2. Cellulosic Biomass Pretreatment Needs
High cellulose accessibility to enzymes
High sugar yields from hemicellulose
Low capital cost – low pressure, inexpensive materials of construction
Low energy cost
Low degradation
Low cost and/or recoverable chemicals
Biomass Refining CAFI

3. Cellulosic Biomass Pretreatment Needs
High cellulose accessibility to enzymes
High sugar yields from hemicellulose
Low capital cost – low pressure, inexpensive materials of construction
Low energy cost
Low degradation
Low cost and/or recoverable chemicals
A large number of pretreatment technologies have been studied, but only a few show promise
Biomass Refining CAFI

4. Biomass Refining Consortium for Applied Fundamentals and Innovation (CAFI)
Organized in late 1999
Included top researchers in biomass hydrolysis from Auburn, Dartmouth, Michigan State, Purdue, NREL, Texas A&M, UBC, U. Sherbrooke
Mission:
Develop information and a fundamental understanding of biomass hydrolysis that will facilitate commercialization,
Accelerate the development of next generation technologies that dramatically reduce the cost of sugars from cellulosic biomass
Train future engineers, scientists, and managers.
Biomass Refining CAFI

5. CAFI USDA IFAFS Project Overview
Multi-institutional effort funded by USDA Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems Program for $1.2 million to develop comparative information on cellulosic biomass pretreatment by leading pretreatment options with common source of cellulosic biomass (corn stover) and identical analytical methods
Aqueous ammonia recycle pretreatment - YY Lee, Auburn University
Water only and dilute acid hydrolysis by co-current and flowthrough systems - Charles Wyman, Dartmouth College
Ammonia fiber explosion (AFEX) - Bruce Dale, Michigan State University
Controlled pH pretreatment - Mike Ladisch, Purdue University
Lime pretreatment - Mark Holtzapple, Texas A&M University
Logistical support and economic analysis - Rick Elander/Tim Eggeman, NREL through DOE Biomass Program funding
Completed in 2004
Biomass Refining CAFI

6. Non-structural Sugars
Feedstock: Corn Stover
NREL supplied corn stover to all project participants (source: BioMass AgriProducts, Harlan IA)
Stover washed and dried in small commercial operation, knife milled to pass ¼ inch round screen
Glucan
36.1 %
Xylan
21.4 %
Arabinan
3.5 %
Mannan
1.8 %
Galactan
2.5 %
Lignin
17.2 %
Protein
4.0 %
Acetyl
3.2 %
Ash
7.1 %
Uronic Acid
3.6 %
Non-structural Sugars
1.2 %
Biomass Refining CAFI

7. USDA IFAFS Project Tasks
Apply leading pretreatment technologies to prepare biomass for conversion to products
Characterize resulting fluid and solid streams
Close material and energy balances for each pretreatment process
Determine cellulose digestibility and liquid fraction fermentability
Compare performance of pretreatment technologies on corn stover
Biomass Refining CAFI

8. DOE Office of the Biomass Program Project: April 2004 Start
Funded by DOE Office of the Biomass Program for $1.88 million through a joint competitive solicitation with USDA
Using identical analytical methods and feedstock sources to develop comparative data for corn stover and poplar
Determining more depth information on
Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose in solids
Conditioning and fermentation of pretreatment hydrolyzate liquids
Predictive models
Added University of British Columbia to team through funding from Natural Resources Canada to
Capitalize on their expertise with xylanases for better hemicellulose utilization
Evaluate sulfur dioxide pretreatment along with those previously examined: dilute acid, controlled pH, AFEX, ARP, lime
Augmented by Genencor to supply enzymes
Biomass Refining CAFI

9. DOE OBP Project Tasks
Corn stover and poplar pretreated by leading technologies to improve cellulose accessibility to enzymes
Conditioning methods developed as needed to maximize fermentation yields by a recombinant yeast, the cause of inhibition determined, and fermentations modeled
Cellulose and hemicellulose in pretreated biomass enzymatically hydrolyzed, as appropriate, and models developed to understand the relationship between pretreated biomass features, advanced enzyme characteristics, and enzymatic digestion results
Capital and operating costs estimated for each integrated pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation system and used to direct research
Biomass Refining CAFI

10. CAFI Project Advisory Board Serve as extension agents for technology transfer Provide feedback on approach and results Meet with team every 6 months
Quang Nguyen, Abengoa Bioenergy
Mat Peabody, Applied CarboChemicals
Gary Welch, Aventinerei
Greg Luli, BC International
Paris Tsobanakis, Cargill
Robert Wooley, Cargill Dow
James Hettenhaus, CEA
Kevin Gray, Diversa
Paul Roessler, Dow
Susan M. Hennessey, DuPont
Michael Knauf, Genencor
Don Johnson, GPC (Retired)
Dale Monceaux, Katzen Engineers
Kendall Pye, Lignol
Mark Stowers, MBI
Richard Glass, National Corn Growers Association
Bill Cruickshank, Natural Resources Canada
Joel Cherry, Novozymes
Ron Reinsfelder, Shell
Carl Miller, Syngenta
Carmela Bailey, USDA
Don Riemenschneider, USDA
Biomass Refining CAFI

11. Presentations and Publications of CAFI Results
Team presentations at
2004 Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Austin, Texas, November 11
2003 Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, San Francisco, California, November 20
25th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Breckenridge, Colorado, May 7, 2003
2002 Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Indianapolis, Indiana, November 4
24th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, April 28, 2002
Mosier N, Wyman CE, Dale B, Elander R, Lee YY, Holtzapple M, Ladisc1 M “Features of Promising Technologies for Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass,” BioResource Technology 96(6):
Special issue of Bioresource Technology in progress to report USDA IFAFS findings in several papers including joint papers to introduce project and summarize results
Biomass Refining CAFI

12. ISAF Overviews on CAFI Research
Pretreatment – Bruce Dale, Michigan State
Enzymatic hydrolysis – Charles Wyman, Dartmouth
Logistics and economics – Richard Elander, NREL

13. Acknowledgments
US Department of Agriculture Initiative for Future Agricultural and Food Systems Program, Contract
US Department of Energy Office of the Biomass Program, Contract DE-FG36-04GO14017
Natural Resources Canada
Our team from Dartmouth College; Auburn, Michigan State, Purdue, and Texas A&M Universities; the University of British Columbia; Genencor International; and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Biomass Refining CAFI

14. Insanity is doing what you always have always been doing and expecting different results
Biomass Refining CAFI

15. Questions?
Biomass Refining CAFI