PureVision Presents Triticale Straw Fractionation Results at International Conference in Calgary
October 3, 2007PureVision Technology, Inc., (PureVision) a Colorado-based research and development company under contract to the Province of Alberta’s Agriculture and Food (AF) agency presented results of a 9-month biomass utilization study on September 26. The research program investigated converting triticale straw, an Alberta agriculture residue, into higher value products. This study is anticipated to lead to developing cellulosic biorefineries in Canada utilizing the patented PureVision biomass conversion technology.
Alberta Agriculture and Food’s Bio-Industrial Technologies Division coordinated the PureVision presentation as part of the Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC) held September 23-26 in Calgary, Canada. In addition to presenting technical results, PureVision was prominently featured at the AF conference booth, providing ABIC conference attendees, as well as AF stakeholders and project funders, information on triticale straw initiatives in Alberta and throughout Canada.
Alberta Agriculture and Food and PureVision are partners in the Canadian Triticale Biorefinery Initiative, which is developing many commercial applications from triticale. Triticale, a hybrid of wheat and rye, is well suited for Alberta agriculture. While the triticale grain has use as a feedstock for producing ethanol, animal and human feed, the PureVision research program is evaluating the triticale straw as a source for pulp to produce paper products and as a source of sugars and lignin to manufacture many different industrial products.
Dr. Kiran Kadam, PureVision’s Director of Process Development, presented preliminary results of the 9-month PureVision triticale straw fractionation program at the ABIC conference. About 60 participants, comprised of project funders, Provincial government scientists and ABIC conference participants, attended the event. Dr. Kadam documented the ability of the PureVision process to separate the triticale straw into three distinct product streams, each with high value applications. During his presentation he emphasized the unique lignin fraction from the PureVision process and documented several promising industrial applications including use of the lignin as a phenyl resin for making plastics and as a binder in asphalt. “Unlike other bioprocessing technologies, the purity and quality of the PureVision lignin will contribute to making triticale straw, and other agricultural residues, economical biorefinery feedstocks once the PureVision process is scaled-up and commercialized. Unlike the large-scale biorefineries being proposed in the U.S., PureVision expects to be able to develop economically viable biorefineries at smaller scale, well suited for Alberta-based agriculture and industry.” he said.
A final report including biomass conversion data and samples of the fractionated straw will be delivered to Alberta AF along with a proposal to scale-up the PureVision technology in Alberta.
The The Alberta Agriculture and Food Bio-Industrial Technologies Division has a key role in the Canadian Triticale Straw Initiative, including exploring value-added market opportunities. Current projects include development of a fiber processing industry in Alberta, alternative uses for biomass materials in industry, and the PureVision fractionation program.
The PureVision technology is a new approach to convert diverse cellulosic biomass into useful products. PureVision has completed feedstock evaluations for corn stover (corn stalks), wheat straw, sugarcane residues and woody biomass in addition to triticale straw, and is now developing a pilot at their Colorado facility.
PureVision is a privately held Colorado corporation headquartered in Fort Lupton, Colorado. PureVision’s biorefining technology breakthrough is the result of more than a decade of private and U.S. government-supported research and development. PureVision is scaling up their patented biorefinery technology to process diverse cellulosic biomass into higher value products including pulps, industrial chemicals and fuels. PureVision plans to commercialize its biorefining technology, first to process agricultural residues such as triticale straw and corn stover into bioproducts, and once commercially operational, to apply the technology to other cellulosic feedstocks and industrial bio-product applications.
For more information on Alberta Agriculture and Food, visit the Alberta Agriculture and Food Home Page:
http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/app21/rtw/index.jsp
Contact: Carl Lehrburger, PureVision Technology, Inc. (303) 857-4530
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