(227a) Algenol Biofuels's DIRECT to ETHANOLTM Technology

Algenol Biofuels' DIRECT TO ETHANOL? technology provides a highly efficient, algae-based process for producing ethanol. The DIRECT TO ETHANOL? process has several advantages over competing methods for ethanol production. It does not compete with food. It does not require arable land. It does not use fresh water. Most importantly, it consumes large amounts of carbon dioxide with a large positive net energy balance, leading to a substantial reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline. The technology involves over-expressing in blue-green algae the genes for fermentation pathway enzymes found widely in nature. The resulting metabolically enhanced hybrid algae actively carry out photosynthesis and utilize carbon dioxide to make ethanol inside each algal cell. The ethanol diffuses through the cell wall into the culture medium and then a portion evaporates, along with water, into the headspace of an enclosed, sealed photobioreactor. The ethanol-water vapor is then condensed, collected as a liquid, and distilled into fuel grade ethanol. Algenol currently has hybrid algae that produce ethanol at a rate equivalent to about 6,000 gallons per acre per year. The productivity of these algae and host algae is being evaluated in 80-liter laboratory bioreactors and in 300-liter outdoor bioreactors under field conditions at our test facilities in Spain, Germany and Florida. In addition, Algenol and The Dow Chemical Company intend to cooperate in the construction of a pilot-scale biorefinery to be located in Freeport, Texas, on an existing Dow facility. The proposed biorefinery will consist of approximately 17 acres of fully enclosed 1,200-gallon specialized bioreactors and supporting areas for testing, distillation, and storage. This test facility will consume two dry tonnes per day of carbon dioxide obtained from industrial emissions and will produce more than 100,000 gallons of ethanol per year. Other participants in the project are Georgia Tech, Membrane Technology Research, Inc., University of Colorado, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Once the Algenol process has been demonstrated to work at pilot scale, it can be expanded to produce ethanol in amounts sufficient to assist with the goal of allowing the United States to reduce its dependence on imported oil.