Cellulosic Ethanol from Corn Fiber: Technology, Challenges and …€¦ · D3MAX technology • Ace...

Cellulosic Ethanol from Corn Fiber: Technology,

Challenges and Future Improvements

Mark Yancey, CTO

D3MAX LLCCell: (303) 906-6234

myancey@d3maxllc.com

www.d3maxllc.com

Agenda

• Introduction to D3MAX

• D3MAX technology

• Ace Ethanol project update

• Lessons learned

• Areas for improvement

Introduction

• D3MAX owns and licenses technology to convert corn fiber and residual

starch in a corn dry mill ethanol plant to cellulosic ethanol

• BBI International developed the technology while working with the Coors

Brewery in Golden, Colorado from 2007-2008.

• Our first license was sold to Ace Ethanol in Stanley, WI in 2018

• Construction of the Ace D3MAX plant started October 1, 2018; startup is

scheduled to begin October 2019

• Our business model is to license our technology to ethanol plants; we

charge a one-time license fee; no on-going royalties to use the D3MAX

technology

D3MAX Timeline

2015

Create D3MAX

July 2015

D3MAX, LLC

formation

Develop PPM and

start equity raise

2016

Equity Raise

Complete equity

raise

Design and

fabricate pilot

plant

2017

Pilot Testing

Development

Agreement with

Ace Ethanol

Pilot testing

March-Nov 2017

Start FEL 3

design for

D3MAX at Ace

2018

Engineering

Complete FEL 3

Capital cost

estimate by Fagen

Project approval

April 24, 2018

Oct 1 start

construction at

Ace Ethanol

2019

Construction

Engineering,

procurement and

construction by

Fagen

Startup Oct 2019

2015

Create D3MAX

July 2015

D3MAX, LLC

formation

Develop PPM and

start equity raise

2016

Equity Raise

Complete equity

raise

Design and

fabricate pilot

plant

2017

Pilot Testing

Development

Agreement with

Ace Ethanol

Pilot testing

March-Nov 2017

Start FEL 3

design for

D3MAX at Ace

2018

Engineering

Complete FEL 3

Capital cost

estimate by Fagen

Project approval

April 24, 2018

Oct 1 start

construction at

Ace Ethanol

2019

Construction

Engineering,

procurement and

construction by

Fagen

Startup Oct 2019

Typical Cellulosic Ethanol Process using Dilute Acid

Pretreatment, Enzymatic Hydrolysis & Fermentation

Feedstock harvest, transportation and

storagePretreatment

Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Feedstock Preprocessing

Fermentation

Distillation

Ethanol

Residual Solids Dewatering

Water Treatment

Biomass Boiler

Electricity (internal use and

to grid)

Process Steam

Water Recycle/ Discharge

D3MAX Cellulosic Ethanol Process using Dilute Acid

Pretreatment, Enzymatic Hydrolysis & Fermentation

Feedstock harvest, transportation and

storagePretreatment

Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Feedstock Preprocessing

Fermentation

Distillation

Ethanol

Residual Solids Dewatering

Water Treatment

Biomass Boiler

Electricity (internal use and

to grid)

Process Steam

Water Recycle/ Discharge

2.9 gal/bu undenatured

Wet cake

Thin stillageto evaps

Distillation System

Ethanol StorageBeer Well

Fermenters

Liquefaction

Cook Tank

Slurry TankHammer Mill

Whole Stillage

Decanters

SyrupDDGS

14 lb/bu30% protein

Dryers

Distillers Corn Oil (DCO)

0.7 lb/bu

Corn

Mole Sieves

Evaporators

Dry Mill Ethanol Plant without D3MAX

D3MAX feedstock

steam

Wet cake

Thin stillageto evaps

Thin stillageto evaps

Wet Cake Tank

Reactor

Hydrolysis/Fermentation Tanks Beer Column

New decanters

Flash Tank

Beer Well

Distillation System

Whitefox ethanol recovery

Ethanol StorageBeer Well

Fermenters

Liquefaction

Cook Tank

Slurry TankHammer Mill

Whole StillageExisting Decanters

acid

3.1 gal/bu undenatured

Existing Dryers DDGS

10.5 lb/bu~50% crude protein

Syrup

Plant

Corn

DCO

1.2 lb/bu

Mole Sieves

NO INCREASE IN ENERGY USE

D3MAX Process - Dry Mill with D3MAX

D3MAX Block Flow Diagram

Milling FermentationSaccharificationLiquefaction

Evaporation Centrifuge

Ethanol Storage

Distillation/ Dehydration

Dryer

Yeast CO2

Corn 10% Grind Increase

Steam Enzymes Enzymes

Pretreatment

Hydrolysis

Centrifuge Beer ColumnFermentation

Syrup

Thin Stillage

Steam

Acid

Steam

Whole Stillage

Wet cake CO2Yeast

Thin

Sti

llage

Ethanol17% increase

55% ProteinDDGS

Condensate

Steam

BC Overhead

Corn Oil1.2 lb/bu

EthanolWet cake

Beer

WhitefoxEthanol

Backset

Mole Sieve Regen and some 190 proof

Whole Stillage

Existing

D3MAX/ Whitefox

Products

Enzymes

Ammonia

D3MAX Technology

• There are three primary steps for the D3MAX process:

• Pretreatment – converts hemicellulose to monomeric sugars and oligomers

• Enzymatic Hydrolysis – converts cellulose to glucose and oligomers to monomers

• Fermentation – ferments glucose, xylose, arabinose and other sugars to ethanol

• Followed by traditional ethanol distillation, membrane dehydration, and

whole stillage processing

Pretreatment Whole StillageProcessing

Distillation &Dehydration

Hydrolysis &Fermentation

Step 1: PretreatmentWet cake (35% solids) Wet cake + water (25% solids)

Pretreatment Reactor:

Acid + heat + time

Pretreated wet cake

Sugar Yields in Pretreatment

• Hemicellulose in the wet cake is hydrolyzed by dilute acid to monomeric

and oligomeric sugars

• Xylan is the most difficult carbohydrate to convert to monomeric xylose

Average Soluble Sugar Yields

Xylose 92%

Arabinose 90%

Galactose 89%

Mannose 77%

Fermentation Inhibitors

HMF 0.3 g/l

Furfural 0.9 g/l

Acetic Acid 2.5 g/l

R² = 0.9412

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Mo

no

me

ric

Xy

lose

(%)

Retention Time (min)

Monomeric Xylose vs. Retention Time

Pretreatment Reactor Temp vs Pressure

0

50

100

150

200

250

0 50 100 150 200 250

Pre

ssu

re (

psi

g)

Temperature (deg C)

Saturated Steam - P vs. T

Low pretreatment temperature results in lower capex and opex, and lower corrosion rates when using an acid catalyst

D3MAX operating range <40 psi

Pretreatment Reactor installed at Ace Ethanol

Step 2: Enzymatic Hydrolysisc) Add enzymesb) Raise pHa) Lower temperature

Start of Enzymatic Hydrolysis

(video)

Enzymatic Hydrolysis + 6 hours

(video)

Sugar Yields in Enzymatic Hydrolysis

SU

GA

R C

ON

CE

NT

RA

TIO

N (

G/L

)

HYDROLYSIS TIME

Glucose

Xylose

Arabinose

Galactose

Mannose

Step 3: Fermentationc) Pitch yeastb) Adjust pHa) Lower temperature

Sugar Consumption in Fermentation

SU

GA

R &

ET

HA

NO

L C

ON

CE

NT

RA

TIO

N

FERMENTATION TIME

Sugar Consumption and Ethanol Yield

Glucose Xylose Galactose Arabinose Mannose Ethanol

D3MAX Pilot Plant

Yeast

Wet Cake Fermenter

Water 300 gal

Vent Condenser

Flash Steam

Feed Tank Flash Tank

800 gal. 120 gal

Ammonia

50 ton/day @ 25% solids Enzymes

(12.5 dry ton/day)

Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis and fermentation are batch Tank 600 gal

to waste

removable hose

transfer hydrolysate to fermenter

∞

Pretreatment Reactor

Beer

Fermenter Pump

DiaphragmPump

Feed Pump

Steam/acid

Ace Ethanol D3MAX Project Update

• The Ace D3MAX project will be a full-scale, commercial D3MAX plant - all

of the Ace wet cake (without syrup) will be processed by the D3MAX plant

• The D3MAX plant will process 225 dry ton/day of wet cake or 750 wet

tons at 30% solids and produce approximately 3.5 million gal/year of

undenatured cellulosic ethanol

• Ace’s overall ethanol yield will increase from 2.9 to 3.1 gal/bu

• DDGS protein will increase from 30% to >50%

• DDGS volume will decrease by ~25%

• Ace’s overall energy use will not increase after D3MAX and Whitefox

systems are operational

D3MAX

Project Site

Ace Ethanol – Stanley, WI

D3MAX corn fiber

to ethanol plant

Ace Ethanol - D3MAX Plant Layout

Start of Construction – Oct 1, 2018

November 2018

November 2018

December 2018

January 2019

February 2019

March 2019

April 2019

May 2019

June 2019 - Pretreatment Reactor Shipped

July 2019

July 2019

July 2019

July 2019

August 2019

August 2019

August 2019

August 2019

August 2019

August 2019

Lessons Learned

• Wet cake is very abrasive

• Material selection is important!

• Until the viscosity break in enzymatic hydrolysis, wet cake at 25-30%

solids is a very thick slurry (>10,000 cp)

• Equipment, valves, piping, and instrumentation must all be properly designed for the

process conditions

• Removing fiber and creating more syrup creates a difficult material to dry

• pH control is critical to prevent Maillard reactions

• Maillard reactions reduce ethanol yield, consume amino acids, and darken the high

protein DDGS

Areas for Improvement

1. Reduce the cost of monomeric sugar production from corn fiber

a) Reduce the amount of acid used in pretreatment; this will automatically reduce the

amount of base needed to neutralize the acid

b) Reduce the cost of enzymes and increase their efficiency; customize the enzyme

cocktail for corn fiber hydrolysate

c) Reduce capital costs related to sugar production

2. Improve high protein DDGS drying (if necessary)

a) Ethanol plants without dryers?

3. Minimize Maillard reactions

Thank you!

For more information please contact

Mark Yancey

myancey@d3maxllc.com

cell: 303-906-6234