Inbicon produces affordable ethanol

One of the problems with ethanol is the price. The cost of ethanol is higher than fossil fuel costs. Much of that cost is directly related to the cost of production. Inbicon has developed several new technologies to cut the cost of production and bring ethanol down to a more cost competitive level.

Inbicon uses a three stage core process that yields more sugar for processing into ethanol and cuts down on the water content making it a more efficient process. The process breaks plant feedstock, into cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. These materials are then converted to “useful purposes”.

The materials are hydrothermally pretreated which breaks down the lignin structure making the cellulose easier for enzymes to begin the conversion process.
This pretreatment also separates out “the alkali content and a portion of the inhibitors formed through partial degradation of the hemicellulose”. Another plus of using this pretreatment is that it “produces a natural bacteria inhibitor called InBiotics™”. InBiotics can be controlled so that it doesn’t prevent the growth of yeast needed for the fermentation process but still gets rid of other bacteria.

After the hydrothermal pretreatment, enzymes are added to the mixture to break the pretreated cellulose and lignin into carbohydrates. Fewer enzymes are needed because of the hydrothermal pretreatment, cutting down on costs. After two hours of processing during enzymatic hydrolysis , the liquid mixture is sent to “traditional fermenters”. From there the mixture moves to the dehydration process where all water is removed and recycled to be used again in the hydrolysis phase. The ethanol is sent to a storage tank.

Throughout the entire process, the solids and other byproducts are sent to other areas of the plant further processing. For instance, CO2 created during the fermentation process is “captured, purified and marketed” for use in carbonated drinks and flash-freezing processes. Solids and stillage are sent to an evaporator where water is removed and some of the stillage is turned into molasses to be sold as animal feed. The rest of the solids go through a drying process and are reduced to powdered biofuel that is used to power the plant.

Cost saving measures: less water, and fewer enzymes are used; and plant generated biofuel is used to run the plant. The CO2 captured and molasses are sold as well as the ethanol, to generate income. All of these factors create more affordable ethanol for consumers.

The Danish Inbicon plant will be producing the ethanol that will be used during the Copenhagen Climate Change conference.

All in all, Inbicon’s innovations mean lower ethanol costs which will translate into greater ethanol use and a cleaner environment.

source: green.blorge