Biorefinery Process Development

Our group has been working on biorefinery process development for biochemical conversion (e.g. biosugar production) and thermochemical conversion (e.g. biocrude production).

Implementing mechanical refining is a key for biosugar production with the following benefits. a) Carbohydrate recovery can be enhanced by 10-20% at the current levels of enzyme dosage or enzyme dosage can be reduced since the substrate is more digestible. b) Pretreatment severity (e.g. dilute-acid) can be greatly reduced, which in turn reduces production of inhibitors that make fermentation or catalytic upgrading difficult. c) Refining technology is versatile and can be installed in conjunction with any type of pretreatment chemistry. d) Refining technology is commercially proven for process flows of ~1,500 dry tons/day of biomass.

Interest in pyrolysis bio-oil as a potential renewable and sustainable alternative for transportation fuels has increased. However, low heating value and fast aging behavior make direct application of bio-oil difficult. To increase the heating value, torrefaction has been used for pretreatment prior to fast pyrolysis. Also the bio-oil aging mechanism was explored by an accelerated aging test of fractionated bio-oil produced from loblolly pine. We have a torrefaction unit (1 ton/day) and two fluidized pyrolysis reactors (~150 g/hour).