Coskata Inc., a developer of next generation biofuels, announced the start-up of their semi-commercial, flex-ethanol facility located in Madison, PA.
Unlike other technologies and facilities that may rely on one primary
source of feedstock, Coskata’s flex ethanol facility will be producing
ethanol from numerous feedstocks, including wood biomass, agricultural
waste, sustainable energy crops, and construction waste. This flexible
approach at the Madison facility is enabled by Westinghouse Plasma
Corporation (WPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Alter NRG, and their
plasma gasification technology.
The feedstock flexible nature of the
Coskata approach also allows for geographic flexibility, meaning
facilities can be built anywhere a feedstock can be sourced or
delivered
“We are proud that we have successfully scaled our technology to this significant level,” said Bill Roe, president and CEO of Coskata. “This facility is demonstrating that our efficient, affordable and flexible conversion technology is ready for commercialization. The next step is to build full-scale facilities and begin licensing our technology to project developers, project financiers and strategic partners.”
Coskata said its technology, as demonstrated through Project Lighthouse, will be able to reduce greenhouse gasses by as much as 96% over conventional gasoline, while using less than half the water that it takes to get a gallon of gasoline. In addition, the company said it has the ability to produce non grain-based ethanol that is as much as 7 times as energy positive as the fossil fuel used in the process, addressing many concerns related to traditional processes, including energy efficiency and the use of grain.
The facility is a demonstration of “minimum scale engineering,” an industry standard term which means it is the smallest size that will still allow the company to scale directly to 50 million and 100 million gallon Coskata facilities. Some of the ethanol that is being produced at the facility has been delivered to the General Motors Milford Proving Grounds for early testing, as well as to another major strategic partner.
“We invested in Coskata so that we could enable the rapid deployment of commercially viable and environmentally sustainable ethanol globally,” said Bob Babik, GM Vehicle Emissions Director. “We’re proud to say that we have already accepted some of Coskata’s ethanol at our Milford facility.”
GM said it is on track to make more than half of its vehicle production flex-fuel capable by 2012.
Coskata leverages proprietary microorganisms and efficient bioreactor designs in a unique three-step conversion process that can turn virtually any carbon-based feedstock into ethanol. Coskata’s biological fermentation technology is ethanol-specific and enzyme independent, contributing to high energy conversion rates and ethanol yields. Additionally, the process requires no additional chemicals or pre-treatments, serving to streamline operational costs.
