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The world's first commercial scale biomass plant is currently being constructed by Abengoa Bioenergy to demonstrate its biomass-to-ethanol process technology. Construction began in August of 2005. The Biomass Plant is located at the new BCyL Cereal Ethanol Plant in Babilafuente (Salamanca), Spain. Commissioning is expected to start by the end of 2007; the Biomass Plant will process 70 tonnes of agricultural residues, such as wheat straw, each day and produce over 5 million liters of fuel grade ethanol per year. The commercial demonstration of the biomass to ethanol production technology marks an important milestone for the growth of Abengoa Bioenergy in ethanol production from renewable resources. The ultimate objective is to develop biomass ethanol technologies that are economically competitive with gasoline. Considering the rapid rise in the price of petroleum products, the need for developing alternative technologies for the production of fuel and chemicals from renewable resources such as agricultural residues (e.g., straw, corn stover etc.) becomes more urgent. With the construction of the BCyL Biomass Plant, Abengoa Bioenergy clearly demonstrates its world leadership in technology and business development in this important and fast-growing area.
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Funding
DOE awarded Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas, LLC of Chesterfield, Missouri, up to $76 million. The proposed plant will be located in the state of Kansas. The plant will produce 11.4 million gallons of ethanol annually and enough energy to power the facility, with any excess energy being used to power the adjacent corn dry grind mill. The plant will use 700 tons per day of corn stover, wheat straw, milo stubble, switchgrass, and other feedstocks.
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Technology
Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies (ABNT) is providing its proprietary process technology and the process engineering design for the BCyL Biomass Plant. The goals for the Biomass Plant are to commercially demonstrate the biomass to ethanol process, optimize plant operations, and establish a baseline for the future expansion of the ethanol industry. In addition to ethanol, the plant will generate sufficient amounts of fermentation residues for the development and testing of co-products, such as feed and chemicals.
The major processing steps of the plant include: Feedstock Storage and Preparation, Pretreatment, Cellulose Hydrolysis, Ethanol Fermentation, and Ethanol Recovery.
The biomass feedstock, such as wheat or barley straw, is first milled and cleaned in the preparation stage and then pretreated. The pretreated biomass is digested by enzymes to release sugars, which will be further fermented by yeast to ethanol and carbon dioxide. Ethanol is recovered in the distillation process, and the fermentation residue is processed further as animal feed or to recover useful chemicals.
ABNT expects to implement the second phase of this project in the fall of 2007. In this phase, processed biomass will undergo fractionation, a technology currently under development, to extract lignin, pentose sugars, and manufacture feed products.
Recognizing that the BCyL Biomass Plant is the first commercial demonstration of Abengoa's biomass-to-ethanol process technology in the world, ABNT has formulated the following design philosophy:
1) design in as much flexibility as possible to accommodate future process changes;
2) design the Plant so that it is robust, easy to operate and maintain;
3) design the Plant to minimize capital costs;
4) optimize material flow to minimize double handling, inventory requirements, etc.; and
5) use proven and reliable equipment whenever possible.
Based on the ABNT process design, Abener, the Engineering and Construction Company of Abengoa, is developing the detailed engineering design. Abener is also responsible for the Plant construction, with completion expected in 2006.
ABNT will provide technical oversight during plant construction, commissioning, start-up, and operation. This project is a huge step towards biomass ethanol commercialization, which will lead to sustainable growth and benefit the environment. This effort brings together partners from various research communities and industrial companies to develop and demonstrate a competitive biomass ethanol technology. ABNT also intends to apply novel approaches and know-how to improve the performance of the plant and reduce the bioethanol production cost. Using data collected from the plant, ABNT will be able to conduct a life cycle analysis which, combined with ABNT's economic assessment, will provide a practical model for biomass conversion to ethanol, feed, and chemicals.
The location of the Biomass Plant is next to the 195-MML/y cereal ethanol plant. The co-location and integration of biomass ethanol production with a cereal ethanol plant leads to reduced capital and operating costs for the biomass plant. Abengoa Bioenergy will utilize the BCyL Biomass Plant as a springboard to develop and launch competitive biomass conversion technologies to ensure long-term, sustainable growth of the company.
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