A biorefinery can be compared to other advanced forms of processing: a petroleum refinery that fractionates crude oil into fuels, waxs and asphalts, or a hog processing plant that finds a valuable use for every portion of the animal.

Doug Van Thorre, president of Minneapolis-based Biorefining, Inc., makes yet another analogy.

"It's like an auto body chop shop," says Van Thorre. "If you replace a fender on a used car, you might pay half the price of the car for the fender alone. That's because the combined parts are worth more than the whole. The same [principle] applies to bio-based products. . . the parts are worth more than the whole."

Van Thorre's simplified definition of biorefining is, to put it briefly, what biological scientists and process engineers are fast discovering: a seemingly endless array of valuable products that can be derived from bio-based materials. Crops such as corn, beets and soybeans, once milled for only their most basic and obvious properties, are today yielding high-value extracts.

"Instead of simply going after a few products, a biorefinery prefractionates the grain or biomass and extracts valuable components," Van Thorre says. "Until now, everything has been geared toward sucrose, but there is so much more to a kernel of corn or a sugar beet."

Corn alone, he explained, contains 14 unique amino acids, four pentose sugars and a plethora of other valuable components waiting to be mined.

Distillers grains, once considered a mere "byproduct" of ethanol, can yield such valuable extracts as Xylose, a low-calorie sweetener and fluoride replacement; L-Arabinase, used in disease-fighting medications; Galactose, a low-calorie sweetener used in soft drinks and snack bars; and Galactronic acid, a nutrient for functional foods and a replacement for phosphates in detergents. In fact, Van Thorre said, a single corn fiber could yield as many as 20 to 30 different products through fractionization.

The working concept of biorefining, many believe, will someday be synonymous with ethanol production. Indeed, ethanol and distillers grains production are rudimentary forms of biorefining, Van Thorre said. Mining the plant for its extracts seems to be the next logical step.

However, most U.S. ethanol producers have been impervious to the idea thus far, choosing to, as Van Thorre said, "make hay while the sun shines."

"We have initiated talks with many ethanol producers, and several have approached us," Van Thorre told EPM. "But we have met a considerable amount of resistance to the concept. . . They all want to see somebody else do it first."

ACE Ethanol steps up to the plate
ACE Ethanol, LLC, a soon-to-be 30-mmgy ethanol plant near Stanley, Wis., is one producer that's been willing to step up to the plate, albeit with little to lose.

Last year, Biorefining Inc. signed a letter of intent to build its first biorefinery adjacent to ACE Ethanol. Van Thorre said the entities involved reached terms of agreement this summer and plan to break ground on the biorefinery this fall.

Biorefining Inc. is partnering with the engineering firm of Sebesta, Blomberg & Associates, of Minneapolis, to design the biorefinery, and looking to the same group of contractors that built ACE Ethanol for construction services, Van Thorre said.

"It should be completed by the fourth quarter of next year," he said.

The $16 million plant, which will be a separate company named ACE Biorefining, LLC, will receive distillers wet grains – 20,000 tons of it per year – extracting starch, cellulose, protein (gluten), corn oil, Xylose, L-Arabinase, Galactose, and D-Galacturonic acid. The components will be used in products ranging from pharmaceuticals to sweeteners and food additives. Biorefining Inc. holds a patent on an extraction process which, Van Thorre says, eliminates the need for massive amounts of water and harsh chemicals.

The process being utilized in Stanley, however, is not the process Biorefining Inc. wants to license. "This is not a retrofit to the front end of the ethanol plant," Van Thorre said. "They weren't willing to go that route."

The patented process Biorefining Inc. eventually would like to license to the ethanol industry is known as the "Biomilling Process." The company recently filed a patent based on pre-fermentation technology.

According to Thorre, biorefining will help improve the overall profitability of the ethanol industry from both the production side as well as the processing of residual fiber. In theory, this technology should expand the number and value of marketable coproducts made available by separating the corn germ and pericarp from the starch in the corn kernel prior to fermentation. By eliminating most of the fermentation inhibitors (oil, protein and fiber), the process can also improve production yields of ethanol on a per bushel basis by five percent to ten percent. The combination of these two proprietary processes in conjunction with an ethanol plant, Thorre told EPM, would create a "total corn processing" facility or biorefinery. The biorefinery would produce profits from sales of ethanol and CO2 and would replace sales of distillers grains with revenue and profit streams from three higher-value coproducts extracted pre-fermentation.

But it appears Biorefining Inc. is not the only company with a lock on the ethanol plant-biorefinery concept.

Broin, DOE developing 'revolutionary' biorefinery process
Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded biomass research grants to several ethanol producers and corporations having a vested interest in biorefining.

Broin & Associates, of Sioux Falls, S.D., won a $5.3 million research grant to work in cooperation with DOE in a joint project to research and develop a dry mill biorefinery process for enhancing the economics of existing ethanol dry mills by creating additional coproducts and increasing ethanol yields.

Last year, Jeff Broin, CEO of Broin Companies, told the Associated Press his company would nearly match the DOE grant with its own money. The research – kept tightly under lid – is being carried out at Broin's Scotland, S.D., ethanol plant, Broin Enterprises, Inc., an 8-mmgy facility that reportedly serves as a testing unit for the company's larger plants.

What is known about the project is that Broin is fractionating the bran, germ and endosperm of corn using both a proprietary process and proprietary equipment. This mechanical separation – deemed "revolutionary" by the DOE – will enable flexibility in feedstock utilization, substrate conversion and fermentation processes, while expanding options for new high-value coproducts.

What's more, with the help of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Broin is investigating – at bench and pilot-scale – the technical and economic feasibility of converting the hemi-cellulosic and cellulosic fractions of the extracted corn bran to ethanol. They are also trying to upgrade the bran and endosperm fermentation residues to high-protein feeds.


Abengoa Bioenergy, Novozymes biorefining distillers, corn stover
According to official DOE reports, Abengoa Bioenergy (formerly High Plains Corporation) is working hand-in-hand with Novozymes North America, VTT Findland, and NREL to develop a novel biomass-derived process technology that utilizes advanced biorefined distillers grains and corn stover blends to achieve significantly high ethanol yields while maintaining the protein feed value.

This research, categorized as "the biorefining of distillers grains and corn stover," will reportedly enable a more economical, sustainable industry, reduce energy use per gallon of ethanol and increase ethanol yields.

At both bench and pilot scales, the project is intended to demonstrate a viable pretreatment process for distillers grains and corn stover – a process that converts residual starch, cellulose and hemicelluloses into ethanol and high-protein animal feed.

After bench and pilot-scale processes are achieved, final integration of the large-scale pilot facilities will be performed at the 50-mmgy Abengoa Bioenergy plant in York, Neb.

Other producers, corporations working on biorefinery platforms
Corporations ranging from Cargill and Canadian-based Iogen to Shell and DuPont are also currently working on DOE-sponsored biorefinery research.

Cargill, in collaboration with industry partners, is developing a new bio-based platform technology to produce a portfolio of products based on 3-hydroxyropionic acid (3-HP) produced by the fermentation of carbohydrates. For this project, a U.S.-based company called Codexis will optimize the genes and pathways of the carbohydrates for production of 3-HP, according to DOE reports. Cargill will then optimize the organism and fermentation process.

Another interesting biorefining project now underway has Cargill Dow in partnership with Iogen of Ontario, Can., Shell Global Solutions and CNH Global NV (CNH). The team is working with DOE to develop a pilot-scale demonstration biorefinery project in collaboration with wheat, corn and rice-grower organizations. The project focuses on process and fermentation technologies, according to DOE reports, as these will constitute the "heart" of the economically and environmentally sound biorefinery of the future. The project's primary aim is to establish a commercialized lignocellulosic biorefinery that cost-effectively produces sugars and chemicals such as lactic acid and ethanol. The project will give growers – and grower organizations – a "first opportunity" to participate in the commercial development of these technologies.

Furthermore, DuPont is working with DOE in a joint venture to build a "bio-based" production facility. The plant will utilize new technology to convert corn and stover into fermentable sugars for "parallel production of value-added chemicals." DuPont is currently collaborating on the project with NREL and a company named Diversa, according to DOE reports.

A corn fiber separation project, also an emerging form of biorefining, seeks to develop technologies that make it viable to recover hemicellulose, protein and oil components from corn fiber. Subsequently, these components would be converted into high-value products. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is reportedly leading a team to conduct pilot-scale testing to validate the process prior to full-scale commercial implementation. DOE said the team includes business managers, engineers, chemists and biochemists from Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).


Aulich, EERC explore chemical intermediates
Ted Aulich, a process chemist at the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), is working with a small team of researchers to develop a biorefining concept centered around extracting valuable chemical intermediates from the ethanol production process.

The EERC's biorefining process is unique, however, in that it divides – or reroutes – the corn glucose feedstock on the front end into two streams: one destined for ethanol production (yeast fermentation) and one destined for a carboxylic acid process (bacterial fermentation).

The EERC's concept, Aulich said, is to use dual fermentation biorefining, direct esterification and a method called Guerbet catalytic condensation.

The result of dual fermentation would produce coproduct options that would include fuel ethanol, lactic acid, succinic acid, ethyl lactate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl acetate and methyl acrylate.

The result of catalytic condensation would produce coproduct options ranging from fuel ethanol to butanol and isobutyl acrylate.

Minnesota launches biorefining center, AURI supports biorefinery research
The University of Minnesota is also exploring biorefining through its Center for BioRefining, a program affiliated with the university's Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment.

The proposed center will consist of a network of multi-disciplinary researchers holding teaching, research and extension positions at the University, as well as industry and government collaborators. This combination of the University's multi-disciplinary experts and interested private and government investigators will enable the university to establish research programs and attract funding to develop viable technologies for biorefining.

Minnesota has been a pioneer of sorts in biorefining, with the state's Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) leading the way with both support and research. In addition to its own biorefinery research, AURI supports industry. In fact, AURI approved an $85,000 matching grant to Biorefining Inc. in 2002 to help the startup company commercialize its efforts.

Trade associations and non-profits supporting movement
Nationwide, the biorefinery movement is finding support from groups that represent farmers, ethanol producers, pharmaceutical and neutraceutical manufacturers and the like.

In addition to the network of support received by ethanol trade associations like the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the American Coalition For Ethanol (ACE), ethanol producers interested in biorefining concepts are finding valuable resources in groups like the New Uses Council (NUC) and its sister organization, Biobased Manufacturers Association (BMA). The National Corn Growers Association as well as the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) are also paving the way for biorefining.

These groups, and others, are working together to bring biorefining to the forefront of America's international, industrial, energy and environmental landscapes.

The NUC calls the movement a "bioeconomy transformation," as Americans strive to transform an economy essentially dependent on fossil energy to one increasingly reliant on biofuels, biopower, biobased products and renewable energy.

Like ethanol production alone, biorefining is a movement - a return to biobased products driven by issues related to sustainability of natural resources, human health, environmental quality, rural economics, and national security.

Perhaps, Van Thorre summed it up best in the April issue of Minnesota Business, when he explained how the vision for his company surfaced. "It was like a light bulb going off in my head," Van Thorre said. "I just thought, 'You have all these biomasses, why not take what Mother Nature gives you [and] break it down into its component parts?'" EP