| |
| Output from Process |
Primary Market |
Products |
| Cellulose to glucose, then fermented into alcohol |
Fuel ethanol for transportation markets |
Transportation applications include oxygenates
added to gasoline in blends of 10%, 20%, and 85%, airplane fuel and
fuel cells. |
| Cellulose converted into glucose |
Glucose processed into specialty chemicals for
food and health care industries. |
Fermentation sugars, gluconic acid, glucose, mannitol,
sorbitol. |
| Hemicellulose |
Fermentation sugars and/or conversion
to methane in a bio-reactor to feed co-generation |
Fermentation sugars for producing ethanol, xylose,
xylitol, furfural, furfuryl alcohol, furan, bioplastics, etc. |
| Energy, hydrogen |
| Purified cellulose fibers for pulp and paper industry |
Pulp for paper making and fiber filler in the building/
construction and automotive industries. |
Bio-based cellulose derivatives include fiber and
pulps for paper and building products, rayon, cellophane and cellophane
flake. |
| Lignin |
Fuel for co-generation (energy) |
Combustible fuel |
| Future uses include making adhesives |
|
The PureVision technology uses enzymes to convert diverse biomass feedstocks
into sugar streams, a process known as enzymatic hydrolysis. Enzymes are
a protein or RNA bio-molecule that catalyzes a specific chemical reaction,
like breaking down proteins. Cellulase enzymes are used to breakdown cellulosic
materials into glucose.
These bio sugars are the raw materials to make chemicals, consumer products,
industrial products and energy from biomass. Both xylose
(a 5-carbon sugar) and glucose (a
6-carbon sugar) are produced from renewable biomass in the PureVision process.
A primary deterrent for economic utilization of lignocellulose as a source
of sugars in a biorefinery has been the high cost of enzymes used in the
hydrolysis of cellulose to produce the sugars. Over the past several years,
process development efforts have been directed both at economically producing
a reactive cellulose stream and at producing cellulase enzymes at a lower
cost. The PureVision technology produces a purified cellulose product that
will undergo enzyme hydrolysis requiring a minimum of enzymes. This is
expected to enhance the hydrolysis and the overall economics of the PureVision
biorefinery process.
The anticipated public benefits of the sugar platform include less dependence
on foreign energy sources, reduction of environmental impacts from waste,
greater resource utilization, rural economic development and reduction
of greenhouse gases.
|
