11-06: Integrated biorefinery operations: Biomass pretreatment conditions and their impact on biochemical and thermochemical products

Biomass based chemical refining represents many new opportunities in engineering and process design.  The population of companies seeking to develop their technology is large and diverse, from pure liquid fuel producers to integrated multi-product refineries.  A common flow sheet among many of these organizations shows a hybrid biochemical/thermochemical process, whereupon the carbohydrate values in a biomass are removed and the resultant lignin portion is utilized for co-products or process heat.  As a company with capabilities in both areas, Hazen Research is conducting a series of  experimental programs that generate data for a hypothetical process for the biorefining of Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) into chemical values and thermal chemical products.  Initial studies demonstrated a clear correlation between biomass pretreatment conditions and the resultant pyrolysis/gasification products generated from the hydrolysis residue.  The presentation will focus on new data generated in a second round of experiments, which include optimizing carbohydrate yields in hydrolysis as well as running a continuous thermal processing in place of batch experiments.