(285b) Fully Integrated Lignocellulosic Biorefinery with On-Site Production of Enzymes and Yeast

Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant, least expensive renewable natural biological resource for the production of bioenergy, biofuels and biobased products via biorefining. As such, lignocellulosic biomass and biorefineries will enable the sustainable development of human civilization in 21^st century.

It is a must to fully integrate the design, construction and operation of a biorefinery to make it sustainable and cost effective, when producing fermentable sugars and biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass. In this way many value added features can be realized, like improved cellulosic ethanol productivities and yields, lower operational and capital costs and an improved eco-footprint. DSM estimates based on LCA analysis that on-site production of biochemical conversion technology products such as cellulase enzymes and a C5/C6 sugars co-fermenting ethanol yeast generates much less CO₂/ton of enzyme and yeast bioproducts in comparison to a similar off-site production facility. A fully integrated biorefinery operation will provide a) the overall lowest cost option for sourcing bio-conversion components with increased security of supply, b) an enzyme mix continuously tuned to the specific substrate and process conditions at hand and c) increased total process stability and versatility.

In this presentation, we will provide DSM's design efforts and project approach in developing a fully integrated on-site production platform of biochemical conversion technology products in a biorefinery. It will also be evident from this presentation that on-site production of enzymes and yeast (E&Y) for a biorefinery producing cellulosic ethanol will help make bioconversion technology products more effective and efficient by a) reduced down-stream processing costs including water, b) minimal transportation and packaging costs, c) minimal E&Y process losses via direct transfer to the cellulosic ethanol process, d) reduced capital expenditure costs vs. dedicated (remote) facilities, e) lower cost carbon source for the E&Y production fermentations, f) direct availability of induction and adaptation components for E&Y, g) direct access to utilities and energy sources within the biorefinery and h) continuous E&Y output tuning and improvement opportunities directly within the biorefinery.

Royal DSM (www.dsm.com) creates innovative products and services in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences that contribute to the quality of life. DSM White Biotechnology is part of the Innovation Center of DSM and strives to develop new business in the area of industrial biotechnology. Key areas of interest are Next Generation BioFuels and BioBased Chemicals, where DSM is developing new production processes based on renewable feedstocks and BioProducts, where DSM is developing enzymes and fermentation organisms for biofuels that do not compete in the food chain.