Cellulosic Ethanol Snoop Loops Addison Kane Samantha Background

Cellulosic Ethanol Snoop Loops Addison, Kane, Samantha

Background • Biomass “field trash”: corn stalks, wood chips, sugar cane • Same ingredients that made oil “Sugar is the new crude. ” The Goal: -API • Speed up the process and use waste materials to create 2 renewable energy

Biomass Components of Interest • 5 Carbon Hemi vs 6 Carbon Cellulose • Branched short chain xylan • “Pure” Non branched long chain glucan • Readily converted to usable sugars glucose and xylose 3

Biomass Structure 4

The Process AVAP, a division of American Process has created a successful 5 step process: 1. Fractionation: Break down biomass within digester 2. Separation: Split the solution into two streams: 6 Carbon and 5 Carbon 3. Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Convert cellulose to sugar (addition of water molecule) 4. Fermentation: • Combine C-5 hemicellulose sugars and yeast to make ethanol • C-6 cellulose sugars shipped away to produce variety of industrial chemicals 5. Distillation: Recover reactants and products SO 2 and ethanol 5

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The Reaction C 6 H 10 O 5 + SO 2 + C 2 H 5 OH -----> C 6 H 12 O 6 +H 2 O ----> C 2 H 5 OH + CO 2 Biomass + Sulfur Dioxide + Ethanol --> Glucose + Water --> Ethanol + Carbon Dioxide • • • By cooking under intense heat and pressure, biomass breaks down into 5 and 6 carbon cellulose. This cellulose can be converted into glucose sugar by enzymatic hydrolysis. Yeast converts the sugar into ethanol with carbon dioxide as a by product. The presence of strong solvents is required to dissolve lignin “the glue that holds everything together” and the hemi-cellulose 7

A Look at the Reaction Process 8

Topic Relevance • Ethanol is Clean Burning/Low Emission • Currently used as fuel additive primarily from corn (E 85 blend) Global Implications: • The success of this technology reduces energy and food prices • Corn used for ethanol can be directed to food supply 9

Future Research Funding limited due to cheap oil Need to reduce cost of the process or increase production volume • Batch Fermentation vs. Continuous Fermentation - Brethauer, S Critical variables like temperature, p. H, and concentration of yeast per volume of sugar solution are easiest to control in a closed system. Thus, operations are limited to the dimensions of the fermentation tank. • Auto - Hydrolysis vs. Enzymatic Hydrolysis – Yang Enzymatic Hydrolysis has offered an alternate reaction pathway: reduced energy cost and higher potential yields rather than costly steam cook conversion through Auto Hydrolysis 10

Closing • Sustainability: The process is a closed loop. All reactants are recovered and then reused except for yeast and enzymes. • Not feasible with low oil prices • Only predicted to be high again in 2030 according to API’s interpretation of the World Energy Outlook 11

References Brethauer, S. "Review: Continuous Hydrolysis and Fermentation for Cellulosic Ethanol Production. " (Article, 2010) [The Ohio State University]. U. S. National Library of Medicine, July 2010. Web. 28 Sept. 2016. http: //www. sciencedirect. com. proxy. lib. ohiostate. edu/science/article/pii/S 0960852409015132 S, Samiksha. "Microscopic and Submicroscopic Structure of Cell Walls – Explained!" Your. Article. Librarycom The Next Generation Library. Your Article Library, 22 Feb. 2014. Web. 01 Nov. 2016. "Vision. " American Process Inc. N. p. , n. d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016. Waselowsky, Kurt. CHEM C 3000. Providence: Thames & Kosmo, 2011. Yang, Bin, Ziyu Dai, Shi-You Ding, and Charles E. Wyman. "Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulosic Biomass. " Biofuels 2. 4 (2011): 421 -50. Future Science Group. Web. "Ethanol Production. " Ethanol Production Related Keywords & Suggestions - Ethanol Production Long Tail Keywords. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. 12