The Use of Novel Enzyme Accelerant Technology in Reducing

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The Use of Novel Enzyme Accelerant Technology in Reducing Costs and Increasing Yields in Ethanol Production.

Ken Matthews.Business Development ManagerEka Chemicals Inc.

Pulp, Paper and More…….

The Use of Novel Accelerant Technology in Reducing Costs and Increasing Yields in Ethanol Production.

•Enzymatic Accelerants:•1.1 Corn-Ethanol:

–reduced enzyme costs, better ethanol yields.

•1.2 Cellulosic Sludge-glucose/ethanol: –reduced enzyme costs, improved conversion rates.

•1.3 Advanced Bio-fuel conversions:–increased enzymatic hydrolysis efficiencies of 2nd generation and advanced bio-fuels/renewable raw materials from herbaceous and waste materials.

Introduction to the Concept.

• The Paper Industry is spending a lot of money getting rid of what could be a valuable resource.

• The creation of bio-materials from wood is a difficult, complex and costly challenge.

• The conversion of cellulose to sugar and then ethanol is relatively easy.

• This enzyme accelerant technology addresses the second point to lower the barriers to economic feasibility.

• The industry is not ready yet, but the accelerant technology is.


• Enzyme Accelerant: Corn Ethanol.

– Speeds up the enzymatic conversion process.– Reduces the amount of enzyme required.– Increases the yield of sugars from the hydrolysis.

• Increases the amount of ethanol per bushel.

EAT - Enzyme Accelerant Technology

Time (Minutes)0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Glu

cose

/ppm

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

0.12% α Amylase 0.12% α Amylase + 150 ppm EAT0.09% a Amylase0.09% a Amylase + 150 ppm EAT

1st Generation Bio-Ethanol Validation.Adding the Enzyme Accelerant• increases amount of glucose by 10%

• reduces production time by half


Time (Minutes)0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Glu

cose

/ppm

0

20

40

60

80

100

120




• a 25% cut still sees an increase in glucose by 13%

•can cut enzyme by 25% and production time still reduced by half


Time (Minutes)0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Glu

cose

/ppm

0

20

40

60

80

100

120




• a 25% cut still sees an increase in glucose by 13%

•can cut enzyme by 25% and production time still reduced by half

• can cut enzyme by 25% and make the same amount of glucose

Sugar Conversion at Lower Amylase Loadings.Final Brix Level

Amylase Loading (%)0.030.060.090.12

Brix

Lev

el

19

20

21

22

23No Enzyme AccelerantEnzyme Accelerant at 150 ppm •Amylase dose can be

cut by 50% with accelerant

•Or achieve an increase in Brix Level by 9%

Time (minutes)1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Brix

Lev

el

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

ControlAccelerant - AAccelerant - BAccelerant - C

Increase in Sugar Yield with Different Accelerants.

•Different accelerants can be used to give the best result

•Accelerant A & B give a 2% increase

•Accelerant C give a 8% increase

Increased Rate of Hydrolysis.Glucose Levels After Hydrolysiswith 150 ppm of Accelerant

Time (Minutes)2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Glu

cose

(g/L

)

20

40

60

80

100

ControlAccelerant AAccelerant BAccelerant C

•Different accelerants can be used to give the best result

•Accelerant A & C give a 24 to 33% increase

•Accelerant B give a 48% increase

• Cut hydrolysis time by 33 to 50%

Laboratory Set Up.

Enzyme Mechanism.

Comparison of Conventional Hydrolysis and Accelerated Hydrolysis.

Variable Reference /Control

With Accelerator % Change

Alpha Amylase g/100g 0.12 0.08 -33.3Gluco Amylase g/100g 0.008 0.006 -25.0

Accelerant ppm Nil 150Conversion Eff % 94 97 +3.2Fermentation Eff % 95 95 No ChangeFinal Sugar deg Brix 23.7 24.38 +2.9Final EtOH g/l 115.5 118.1 +2.2DDGS Prod #/bushel 16.6 16.0 -4.1


• Cellulose Based Enzyme Hydrolysis.

– Enzyme cost/gallon in corn-ethanol ~ $0.04/gall

– Enzyme cost/gallon in cellulosic-ethanol ~ $0.40 to $1.50/gall

– What effect can the accelerant technology have on the this cost?

Enzymatic Accelerant with Cellulose Sludge.Hydrolysis of Cellulosic Sludge to Glucose

Time (Hours)

0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108

120

132

144

156

168

180

192

204

216

228

Glu

cose

mg/

L

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

ControlControl SmoothedEnzyme AccelerantEnzyme AccelerantSmoothed

•Enzyme Accelerant Technology gave a 25% increase in sugars.

•Hydrolysis time was cut from 180hr to 120hr, (a 33% reduction).

Bleached Hardwood Pulp.Bleached Hardwood Kraft at 5% Consistencywith constant stirring using 0.16% Novozyme Cellic Ctec (84 FPU/ml)

Time (Hours)0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Glu

cose

mg/

L

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

20000

22000

24000Control100 ppm Enzyme Accelerantadded at start of treatment

•Enzyme Accelerant Technology gave a 27% increase in sugars.

•Hydrolysis time is cut from 140hr to ~90hrs (a 36% reduction).

Bleached Softwood Pulp.BSWD fiber was screened & the long fraction collected.The accelerant had a progressively negative effect on the long

fiber.Inference: the accelerant benefit decreases as fines decrease.Which is why the best effects are seen with cellulosic sludge

samples.

Rate of EH Fines>>Rate of EH HWD>Rate of EH SFTW

What solutions might there be?

Effect of Sequenced Addition of Accelerant.Softwood at 2% Consistency at 50 oCwith stirring about 235 rpm 0.1% Novozyme Cellulase

Time (Hours)0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Glu

cose

mg/

L

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000Accelerant added at start Accelerant added after 1 hourHours vs 2 Hr delay Hours vs 4 hr delay Hours vs 6 hr delay 6 Hr

4 Hr

2 Hr

0 Hr1 Hr

•Adding Enzyme Accelerant Technology later in the hydrolysis step•At 2 Hr ~ 33% inc•At 4 Hr ~ 58% inc•At 6 Hr ~ 25% inc

•By adding Enzyme Accelerant 2hr to 4hrs after enzyme addition the production time could be cut by ~40%

Effect of Agitation Speed on Accelerant.

Softwood at 2% Consistency at 50 oC with stirring varied 0.1% Novozyme Cellulase & 250 ppm Enzyme Accelerant

Time (Hours)0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Glu

cose

mg/

L

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

137 rpm245 rpm356 rpmAverage of 460 and 554 rpm

137 rpm

356 rpm

>450 rpm

245 rpm

•Based on varying the agitation with Enzyme Accelerant Technology glucose production could•+33% at 245 rpm•+100% at 356 rpm•+50% at >450 rpm

•By selecting the right agitation speed, production time could by cut by 66% to 80%

Potential Mechanism for Accelerant Performance.• The accelerant has polyelectrolytic properties.• Cationic material is better than anionic.• A higher charge does not appear to have a benefit over lower charge.• A higher molecular weight does not offer any advantages.• The product format seems to have some influence on performance.• It is believed that a patching mechanism is in play due to the above statements.

Further Challenges.

• Dead-Loads:– Inorganic fillers and lignin.

• Inhibitors:– Furfurals, lactic and acetic acids, micro-biological

contaminants.• Cost:

– Capital, resources. • Will:

– Change, risk, uncertainty.

Current Status of Project.

• Looking for industry partners for demonstration in the heritage industry and ultimately a channel partner for the business.

• Running validation studies with Bio-Process Innovation investigating the accelerant effects with cellulosic bio-materials with a cross-section of different, industrially relevant feed-stocks.

• Eka is testing some oxidative chemistries (core-competency) on pre-treatment of agro-waste with the intention of widening our scope within the bio-refinery business development concept.

Thank You for your attention.

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The Use of Novel Enzyme Accelerant Technology in Reducing