PureVision Prepares To Begin 3 Projects, Hires New Scientists
May 10, 2005Fort Lupton, CO: PureVision Technology, Inc. is preparing to initiate three development programs funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance the Company’s biomass recovery technology. The first program, “Generating Process and Economic Data for Preliminary Design of PureVision Biorefineries”, is focusing on converting corn stocks into ethanol. In the second program, PureVision will investigate using the novel biorefining process as a new pulping method for producing pulp and paper products from wood. In addition, PureVision recently received notification of a new DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant.
To implement these programs PureVision has added two new scientists to its staff. Dr. Kiran Kadam joined PureVision in 2004 as the Director of Process Development. Dr. Kadam brings extensive experience in developing and scaling-up integrated bioprocesses, especially biomass-to-ethanol technologies. From 1992-2004 he worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado developing biomass-to-ethanol technologies with emphasis on enzyme production, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation.
Dr. Paul Mann formally joined PureVision during 2004 in the capacity of Director of the Pulp and Paper Division. Dr. Mann has been working with PureVision on a limited consulting basis over the past three years. He recently retired from the J.R. Simplot Co. where he managed the ethanol production facilities.
In the first U.S. government-funded program, the Company’s biomass recovery technology will be evaluated to convert corn stalks and sugarcane bagasse into bio-products including ethanol. This project began last year and is scheduled to be completed in early 2006.
In the second project, PureVision has teamed up with International Paper Company (IP). IP is the largest pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. With an interest in commercializing economically viable alternatives to the Kraft pulping process, PureVision and IP will investigate employing PureVision’s reactive fractionation technology as an alternative to traditional Kraft processing for producing pulp, paper and other products.
The unique PureVision biomass recovery invention separates the basic components of biomass from one another in a patented fractionation process analogous to refining petroleum to make hydrocarbon derivatives. Instead of refining oil, the PureVision process fractionates the three primary components of biomass, that of cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose, that can then be refined into pulp and paper products, sugars, industrial chemicals and energy. The sugars are raw materials that can be used for making many industrial products, such as ethanol, bio-plastics and hydrogen.