[SPN-Discussion] NY Funders breakfast, June 11: Biofine Technologies--Transforming Waste Biomass into Petroleum Replacements -And Already Cost Competitive

[Gelvin Stevenson]

Call-in available. 

 

Greetings:

 

Please join us Friday, June 11, to hear about Biofine Technology's patented
process which refines low grade cellulosic biomass feedstock into three
refinery products:  Levulinic Acid, a versatile platform chemical, Formic
Acid and Furfural-commodity chemicals---and a carbonaceous powder ("Char")
that will be burned or gasified to produce steam and electric power in
amounts that exceed the facility's power needs.  

 

These chemicals can be sold or transformed into higher value derivative
products.

 

Biofine has chosen Ethyl Levulinate, a green fuel oil replacement, or
blendstock, as its first high volume derivative product and has selected
home heating oil as its target market, because it has the lowest barrier to
entry.  The National Oil Heat Research Alliance (NOHRA) has blessed
Biofine's product, along with biodiesel, as heating oil
complements/supplements. 

 

Ethyl levulinate is also compatible with biodiesel and actually improves it
by enhancing its cold flow properties. Ethyl levulinate also has an
excellent Greenhouse Gas (GHG) profile - reducing CO2 by at least 90% by
comparison to gasoline or diesel fuel and 45% to biodiesel. This will allow
significant GHG improvements in heating oil at the NOHRA initial target
concentration of 5%. 

 

Ethyl levulinate has a production cost of around $1.50 per gallon using the
Biofine process and a selling price of $3.50 per gallon, similar to
biodiesel. This price is then reduced by the $1.00 per gallon federal
subsidy.  However, even without this subsidy ethyl levulinate can be sold
profitably into the heating oil market at $2.10 per gallon.

 

Another valuable output is a green formic acid that can be marketed at half
the current market price for petroleum-based formic acid. With that cost
reduction, formic acid could be used in applications like de-icers (calcium
formate) and instead of urea for removing nitrogen oxides from power plant
and automobile emissions. The final product is char, which can be used to
generate electric and/or heat energy, making the biorefinery energy
self-sufficient. 

 

In sum, this simple process (requiring only pressure, temperature, and
(mostly recycled) sulfuric acid), with flexible feedstock requirements and
virtually no waste, enables cellulosic biomass to displace crude oil as a
major primary source of several fuels and chemicals. It is economically
viable when oil is $60-70/bbl. A state-of-the-art pilot plant with
associated testing laboratories is in service at Gorham, ME. 

 

The company seeks an immediate investment of up to $5,000,000 to expand the
suite of patents in the intellectual property portfolio, begin the formal
fuel qualification process and general operating expenses.  The subsequent
opportunities will be investments that will allow the Company to scale up
the technology and to build and operate manufacturing plants worldwide. With
the current world demand for fuels at 5.6 Billion tons per year, a
penetration into the market of less than 0.7% would support over 400 plants
worldwide each using 1000 tons per day of cellulosic biomass.  

 

Register by sending an email to donna at ceepinc.orgThis e-mail address is
being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with
your contact information.  Please bring payment of $50 to the program.

 

Call-ins are available. Specify call-in in your email to Donna and send her
a check or request a credit card form for the $25 fee. 

 

Please contact me with any questions.

 

Regards,

Gelvin 

 

Gelvin Stevenson, Ph.D.

Program Director 

Center for Economic and Environmental Partnership, Inc.

212-222-4369

917-599-6089

 

Venue: 8:00am (presentation begins at 8:30am) at Dickstein Shapiro, LP, 1633
Broadway, 32nd floor, btwn 50th & 51st streets

 

 

 

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