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ZeaChem validates core technology for advanced biofuel production

Now it has validated its core technology producing ethyl acetate, ZeaChem said it is moving forward with its biorefinery development

Colorado technology company ZeaChem, Inc., said today it has taken another step towards its plans for an advanced biofuels production facility in Boardman, Oregon.

The company announced that it has proved its biorefinery technology by producing commercial-grade ethyl acetate from renewable biomass.

The chemical, which can be turned into the biofuel ethanol, is produced through an esterification reaction process from cellulosic biomass feedstocks.

ZeaChem said its process had been validated externally by process expert Sulzer Chemtech.

“Validated”

Jim Imbler, president and chief executive officer of ZeaChem, said: “ZeaChem has successfully validated its core biorefining technology from fermentation scale-up to concentration of glacial acetic acid and now ethyl acetate production.”

“These results demonstrate ZeaChem’s ability to produce another valuable bio-based intermediate chemical on the road toward cellulosic ethanol production,” added Mr Imbler.

Antonio Garcia, Business Development Manager for Process Technology at Sulzer Chemtech USA, Inc., confirmed: “By applying our broad process solution expertise we have successfully produced commercial grade ethyl acetate in our test center which allows the scale-up of ZeaChem’s ethyl acetate process using industrial equipment.”

Ethyl acetate is also used as a solvent in products like paints and printing inks, but can be turned into ethanol through hydrogenation. Zeachem said its process was a lower cost way to produce the chemical compared to the conventional method, which produces it from natural gas.

The said that with its core technology proven, it would now move on to test the downstream applications including hydrogenation, the final step in making cellulosic ethanol.

Cellulosic biofuels offer the chance to produce renewable fuels from non-food crops that have less of an environmental or social impact than conventional biofuels.

The company, which has its headquarters in Lakewood, Colorado, and a research and development laboratory in Menlo, California, intends to build a commercial biorefinery capable of producing 250,000 gallons per year facility at a site in Boardman, Oregon. The core technology of the facility will begin to come online later in 2010, it said.