This proposal provides a pragmatic approach for the evaluation, development and commercial implementation of novel enzymes, transgenic crops and alternative process technology for conversion of cellulose woody biomass to ethanol. The utilization of woody biomass has been shrouded for years in the promise of cellulose hydrolysis that could feasibly convert wood by-products and field crops into ethanol production. Corn-based production remains an essential source of ethanol but alone, falls short on satisfying a significant portion of the demand. The Southeastern United States possesses vast biomass resources but limited corn production that can capitalize on existing technology. New technology must be developed that produces significantly greater amounts of ethanol per acre from alternative sources in order for bio-fuels to play a dominant role in the liquid fuels market.
The interdisciplinary team assembled brings promising technology and new concepts to bear on the challenge of exploiting the residual wood waste market through chemical cellulose hydrolysis. In addition, this team will implement existing transgenic technology to eliminate the requirement of cellulose hydrolysis for selected field crops. South Carolina represents a central geographic location to the wood production, paper and agricultural industries of the Southeastern United States. Each of the members of the proposed team has long standing corporate relationships with companies across the region that can become commercialization partners in bringing cellulose derived ethanol quickly into the market.
Efficient and cost effective cellulose hydrolysis remains the critical technology gap in wood biomass to ethanol conversion. This team has identified emerging technology with the capability to provide alternatives in re-engineered plant cellulose structures, chemical hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis. Further, the research and development collaborators have the capability to create a novel, comprehensive biological and chemical process that can be commercialized via a pilot plant prototype.
Woody biomass opens the wood production regions and feral agricultural land in the Southeastern United States to ethanol production. The expansion of ethanol production into woody biomass has the potential to positively impact the economic development of the rural communities of the Southeastern United States. These communities, while being rich in wood biomass resources, have been experiencing falling field crop revenues, making them ideal locations for the development of a bioenergy industry.
This proposal recommends the creation of a BioEnergy Research Center with a focus on enzyme evaluation, development of transgenic energy crops and novel bio-ethanol production technology to assist the US Department of Energy and private companies in harnessing the woody biomass to bio-ethanol resources of the Southeastern United States. Further, the Research Center would include a working pilot plant essential for evaluating these technologies and developing a manufacturing model that would support a woody biomass ethanol production facility. The collaborating universities and research institutions have established programs currently working on energy or related applications. This new center represents a selected team of institutions and investigators with key resources and experience in biomass or ethanol related fields. The cornerstone of this research center is a rapid translational model blending primary science with sound applied research and commercialization capabilities.
The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) will contribute environmental and biological research and development capabilities to this Center. This National Laboratory has developed extensive capabilities in environmental remediation developed to respond to challenges within the nuclear research environment and in related areas. These technologies are often based in microbial and enzyme technology designed to degrade various chemical and related compounds. The enzyme research capabilities in high-throughput identification proved to be unmatched in the region. The Savannah River National Laboratory will play a lead role in research including pretreatment of biomass materials prior to hydrolysis or fermentation and in the discovery of effective novel cellulose enzymes.
The mission of the South Carolina Institute for Energy Studies at Clemson University is to promote statewide energy education, facilitate the transfer of energy technology and promote energy research for the state. The institute has been providing management oversight for the Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) University Turbine Systems Research and Advanced Turbine Systems Programs for over 15 years. These programs have included over 110 universities and 17 industrial partners. The director of the institute chairs the recently formed South Carolina Biomass Council and was appointed to chair the South Carolina Strategic and Tactical Research on Energy Independence Commission. The institute has managed many energy related projects that have led to commercialization in the state.
The BioEnergy Research Collaborative is composed of complementing research and development resources nationally and internationally. The team is designed to address the perceived technology gaps in biomass to ethanol, concentrating on technologies that effectively convert cellulose. However, this team represents a comprehensive research organization with the capability to develop a complete process for each selected woody biomass source. These research collaborations have identified novel new research concepts that can accelerate the commercialization of biomass to ethanol in the Southeastern United States. The proposed BioEnergy Research Collaborative has developed capabilities in key developmental research areas of biomass conversion as highlighted in Table A-1.
Examples of novel technology existing or nearing proof-of-concept include:
1. Functional Plant Genetics: Clemson University and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have developed genetic research capabilities dedicated to the development of functional genomics for use in developing hybrid and transgenic plant systems for a variety of applications. Clemson University currently has greater than 150 BAC (artificial bacterial clones) libraries of plants and animals. These libraries, and related functional gene snippets, form the basis for rapid development of new transgenic plant varieties.
2. Transgenic Plant Development of Field Crops Suited for Southeastern US Growth and Harvest: Clemson University and QUT have comprehensive transgenic capabilities with proprietary gene insertion technology exceeding current methods. This technology can produce varieties that optimize carbon expression. Further, existing technology provides for a systemic signaling promoter capable of degrading cellulose based on cellulose re-engineering.
3. Novel Enzyme Discovery Research: SRNL and Clemson University are teaming entomology and high through-put enzyme discovery teams to research naturally existing insect and mammalian organisms capable of degrading cellulose including termites, boring beetles, etc.
4. Novel Pretreatment Capabilities: Extensive waste environmental engineering conducted by SRNL over the past twenty years has produced a variety of technologies beneficial in controlling the restrictive constituents of biomass raw materials including wood-based chemicals that inhibit enzymatic hydrolysis or fermentation.
5. Fermentation Optimization: Clemson University, in conjunction with SRNL, has advanced fermentation capabilities that can be used to optimize single or multi-organism fermentation expression systems anticipated in mixed biomass carbon sources. Unless the sugar carbon streams are separated during the process, a blended group of organisms are proposed to optimize the ethanol yield in a single or multi-phase batch or continuous fermentation environment. Existing fermentation optimization systems, developed at Clemson University, are ideal for optimizing blended organisms that can respond to blended streams of carbon sources.
6. Ethanol Recovery and Distillation: Chemical engineering research teams at Clemson University are advancing concepts to reduce energy requirements for ethanol dehydration through separation technologies that minimize energy required in production.
The South Carolina Institute for Energy Studies, housed at Clemson University, supported by the research universities and SRNL can provide the required manufacturing and commercial modeling required to project commercial economic feasibility.
The center structure outlined in the preceding graph represents the current center or institute model in practice by Clemson University. At the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (ICAR) located in Greenville, South Carolina, collaborating major industrial partners were incorporated by Clemson University including BMW, Michelin Tires and other part manufacturers. This successful public/private model will be re-employed in the biomass to ethanol program. In this concept, select private company collaborators will be sought in non-competing industrial sectors including automotive, chemicals, ethanol production, industrial enzymes and agricultural research. This representative team of private partners represents the vehicle for rapid commercialization.
Overview of Phased Methodology
The applied research and process development program is proposed to be conducted in phases over a period of five years. Some of these phases will be conducted in parallel, while others will be in serial order to expedite the work. The first phase incorporates primary research in transgenic plant development and initiates enzyme research. A comprehensive review of enzyme technology currently available in private and public institutions and companies will be conducted. The second phase employs the research capabilities of all institutions in cooperation with private companies to develop a manufacturing process based on novel enzymes, chemical hydrolysis or transgenic plants incorporating self-degrading cellulose technology. The public/private approach is deemed essential in providing avenues of rapid commercialization. The international university collaboration joins major R&D markets and private companies currently engaged in related research.
The third phase extends the process developed into the creation of a biomass to ethanol pilot plant. The plant will be designed to allow conversion to a variety of raw material sources illustrating the manufacturing feasibility of varied biomass raw materials. This facility provides an important reduction to practice of the enzyme technology and comprehensive process strategy required to obtain private commercialization and essential funding. All phases can be scaled at the directive of the US Department of Energy.
The components of Phase I include: technical feasibility of enzymes in achieving hydrolysis, commercial feasibility (corn to ethanol proposed as the baseline) and a review of requirements for commercial scale production. The technical feasibility will be determined in laboratories at Clemson University, Savannah River National Laboratories and Queensland University of Technology performing established protocols to determine sugar and convertible starch yields suitable for ethanol conversion.
The laboratories at Clemson University, Savannah River National Laboratories and Queensland University of Technology provide a comprehensive clearinghouse for the evaluation of enzymes related to woody biomass to ethanol conversion. This capability may be useful in establishing a baseline review of enzymes under development or currently sold in the market.
This clearinghouse approach provides a third-party independent review of alternative enzymes. Further, the research will project technical and commercial feasibility for wood products, field crops and sugarcane. This is accomplished through existing industrial relationships, the Sugar Research Institute at Queensland University of Technology; and the forestry and agricultural capabilities of Clemson University.
Primary research projects planned in Phase I include the development of transgenic plants, novel enzyme discovery and chemical hydrolysis. Transgenic plant programs are currently well advanced in sugarcane with programs in planning for Southeastern US crops like sweet sorghum. The enzyme research joins the high throughput analytical capabilities of enzyme identification with entomology resources of Clemson University and Queensland University of Technology (see Table A-3).
QUT, through its relationship with Farmacule Bioindustries, will bring access to its In-Plant Activation technology (INPACT). INPACT allows the insertion of a molecular switch into the basic operating machinery of a plant which can control the way proteins are produced, ultimately allowing large scale, high value protein production. As a controlled gene activation and expression technology, INPACT also allows controlled switching and expression to facilitate the late stage production of proteins that would normally be toxic to plants.
Through INPACT’s application, genetically-enhanced plants can be produced which manufacture specific proteins in targeted areas such as leaves, roots and seeds. The technology also allows production of genes to be turned on and off in plants when required – either in response to specific internal or external influences.
Significant new chemical hydrolysis research is ongoing with an identified class of new chemical compounds capable of degrading cellulose without destroying convertible carbon sources. This technology is being developed in conjunction with a major multinational chemical company. This process is designed for converting wood residue from the paper and wood product industries.
The selection of three parallel hydrolysis technologies including novel chemical compounds, transgenic signaled degradation and enzyme discovery combines the best hydrolysis research found in the world today. It allows a pragmatic comparison and the ability to combine technologies to review acceptable market operating and cost parameters.
Commercial feasibility will include the development of a conceptual manufacturing model projecting per gallon ethanol production costs. The model will project costs in raw material sourcing, new raw material handling, the enzyme hydrolysis process and required modifications to fermentation, ethanol separation, and energy requirements.
This concept brief is presented to illustrate the range of resources and capabilities in qualifying suitable enzymes, development of a bench-top process and design/construction of a multiuse biomass ethanol production facility. The proposal is built on existing process development capabilities, commercial relationships with enzyme research companies and international university research capabilities that span the woody biomass market.
This proposal can be scaled to the specific Department of Energy requirements in woody biomass to ethanol programs.
Background
A research collaboration was established in December 2005 between Clemson University and the Queensland University of Technology. This collaboration targets biomass to ethanol and transgenic plant program initiatives. This proposal is submitted by SC BIO, the South Carolina Biotechnology Incubation Program, which will work in conjunction with Clemson University, Savannah River National Laboratories and the Queensland University of Technology in establishing private company participation and advancing the commercialization of developed technologies. Savannah River National Laboratory and Clemson University will jointly coordinate the execution of the grant. SC BIO is a not-for-profit public/private organization chartered by the Governor of South Carolina in 2001 to support commercialization of biotechnology emerging from SC research institutions.
Representative Research Capabilities
This collaborative teams three major research institutes with expansive research and development facilities and capabilities. Clemson University represents over 360,000 square feet of laboratories and an estimated 5,000 acres of agricultural experiment stations. These five major centers are located across South Carolina and support agricultural research, education, field trials, and the private agricultural industry. The Clemson University AgriGenetics Program was established to generate new agricultural varieties from existing functional gene research programs. The capabilities of the program are unique; with research and development supported by agricultural engineering, training and agricultural economist with an established extension service to commercialize new crops.