Feb 15 2008
Syntec Biofuel Inc, a company developing biomass to fuel conversion technologies, is pleased to announce that it has achieved a yield of 105 gallons of alcohol (ethanol, methanol, n-butanol and n-propanol) per ton of biomass. This marks a major milestone for Syntec as this yield is equivalent to revenues in excess of $27 million per year for a 300 ton per day biomass processing facility.
“We are consistently seeing monthly improvements in our Biomass to Alcohols (B2A) Process.” says Michael Jackson, President of Syntec Biofuel Inc. “This level of achievement makes the B2A process profitable in relatively small scale facilities using a wide variety of waste biomass feedstocks in any combination.”
The Syntec B2A technology, initially developed at the University of British Columbia, is focused on second-generation cellulosic ethanol production. The Syntec process parallels the low-pressure catalytic synthesis process used by methanol producers. Syntec’s innovative technology uses any renewable waste biomass such as hard or soft wood, sawdust or bark, organic waste, agricultural waste (including sugar cane bagasse and corn stover), and switch-grass to produce syngas. This syngas, comprised of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, is then scrubbed and passed through a fixed bed reactor containing the Syntec catalysts to produce ethanol, methanol and higher order alcohols. The Syntec technology can also produce alcohols from biogas (sourced from anaerobic digestion of manure and effluent), landfill gas or stranded methane.
Recent media coverage on ethanol produced from food crops, such as corn, and the use of agricultural cropland for biofuel production, has prompted an international questioning of the ethics and “hidden costs” behind the production of such alternative fuels. “Syntec’s technology only uses sustainable waste biomass to produce its biofuel.” explains Mr. Jackson. “We believe strongly that fueling the worlds energy needs can be achieved without further impact to our environment, and that we possess the best and most ethical solution to bio-ethanol production"