[Gasification] Need to get informed on bio fuels process differentiation

[LINVENT at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/23/07 11:46:02 PM, Rex at Process.co.za writes:


> www.news.cornell.edu/stories/July05/ethanol.toocostly.ssl.html
> 

There appears to be some confusion about "enzyme" technology. There is acid 
hydrolysis which is too costly in general, according to Dr. Reed and others, 
which has been developed by U of F, using genetically modified enzymes or 
microbes. Gasification is not acid hydrolysis and can use any carbon based input 
fuel. There are several groups working on this and one notable failure was the 
work done by Northern Plains Gasification group which publically announced that 
they couldn't make it work and refunded the funds they had received to do it. 

I have had close experience with an acid hydrolysis plant in Italy. It is or 
was supposed to take 50 tons/day and convert the cellulose into livulenic 
acid. The materials to handle the severely caustic were very expensive, and as an 
example, one 12 ft. dia. x 30 ft. tall pressure vessel cost over $1mm, which 
is very pricey for any vessel of that size. The Italians did not follow the 
specifications of the US licensor and used cheaper alloys than recommended and 
they may have failed. 

The last time I was in the plant was in 2004 and it was supposed to be on 
line in 2002, but in 2004, was only 85-90% complete and still under very slow 
construction. The US partner had run out of money and the Italian partner didn't 
have a great deal to spend on it either. The US licensor was owed $1mm. The 
group also owes Thermogenics money. When we shipped the gasifier to the 
facility, they modified it to suit their esthetic needs and removed appropriate safety 
controls, did not keep a wiring diagram, put in seals which did not work, and 
then asked for EU certification. The gasifier ran RDF through it and operated 
a 75 Kw engine/generator set without any problem, but couldn't continue to be 
operated without EU permitting. What a mess. They are piling up 100,000 
tons/day of garbage across the alley from the facility because they closed all 
their landfills and environmentalists wouldn't allow construction of incineration 
facilities. 

This same system produced ethanol from tires, sawdust, RDF, using 
biocatalysis, but with the failure of the Italy installation, Thermogenics had to start 
over with an operating gasification system which is coming on line now. 

The articles cited in bio transportation fuels are a mixed reference bag. 
Mixing acid hydrolysis, standard fermentation, and gasification is not 
appropriate and lumps all of the processes into one category, a serious and erroneous 
assumption as each one has different economics and technical requirements. 



Sincerely,
Leland T. Taylor
Leland T."Tom" Taylor
President
Thermogenics Inc.
7100-F 2nd St. NW Albuquerque, NM 87107
Phone:505-463-8422 Fax:505-268-9206 (call first)
Web:thermogenics.com