Monday, May 5, 2008
7-24

A New Process for the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Feedstocks to Ethanol

Steven M. Martin, R. Cripps, E. Firth, C. Mercier, P. Milner, J. Robinson, and T. Atkinson. TMO Renewables Ltd, 40 Alan Turing Road, Guildford, United Kingdom

One of the major challenges to a successful commercial application of a second generation bioethanol process utilising ligno-cellulosic feedstocks is to find an ethanologenic strain with the ability to convert efficiently the diverse range of sugars found in biomass feedstocks. TMO Renewables Ltd, a UK-based technology company, has developed such a strain (TM242) which sponsors a number of process advantages including rapid feedstock conversion, low enzyme requirements for biomass hydrolysis, low microbial contamination, and lower capital and operating requirements. TM242 is a thermophilic bacterium able to convert C5 and C6 monomers and oligomers from a wide range of biomass feedstocks to ethanol at high yields and at high temperatures.

One of the first commercial opportunities for this technology will be as a side-door application on existing corn to ethanol operations adding value by converting the residual sugars in the distiller’s grains or fibre fraction co-products, thereby increasing plant ethanol yields by 10-15%. The TMO ethanol process is outlined from pretreatment and hydrolysis through to fermentation. The ability of TM242 to realise a commercially viable cellulosic ethanol process from feedstock to fuel is illustrated using distiller’s grains at high dry solids.



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