(360f) Scale up Strategies for a Novel Biomass Pyrolysis Process

Anellotech, a startup company, is in the process of scaling up a novel catalytic biomass pyrolysis process to convert non-food biomass to aromatic chemicals. The process employs fluidized bed reactor technology at relatively longer contact time than catalytic fast pyrolysis. Scaling up of the technology involves many facets of chemical process development that would seem daunting to large chemical companies, let alone a startup company. To accomplish this development, Anellotech has used various strategies, including partnerships and contracting, to reach the point today where the company is moving to the first stage of engineering for a commercial plant.

Some of the major activities that needed to be accomplished in the course of the scale up included:

• Biomass feed preparation, including ash removal
• Development of laboratory fluid-bed solid-feed reactors for catalyst evaluation
• Development of a commercially practical catalyst
• Design and construction of a pilot plant to demonstrate the technology concept
• Operation and improvements to the pilot plant to reach commercially viable yields and selectivities
• Hydrodynamic scale-up including cold-flow experiments and fluid dynamics modeling
• Preparation of significant product quantities for downstream product development and validation activities by customers

The temptation for many startups is to take on all of these tasks alone and in isolation. However, the company realized early on it would need to take advantage of the knowledge base available in the world to successfully create a business in a timely manner. Therefore, key partnerships with Johnson Matthey, IFP Energies Nouvelles (IFPEN), and Axens have greatly accelerated the development timeline with impressive results. In addition, contracts with companies such as PSRI and Andritz for key pieces of design and development aided in these efforts. This presentation will discuss in detail the benefits (and potential pitfalls) of creating a multi-disciplinary development effort across many entities in an effort to be successful.