In California, Greenyug said it will build an industrial-scale ethyl acetate manufacturing facility adjacent to Archer Daniels Midland Company\u2019s wet mill corn processing facilities in Columbus, Nebraska. Greenyug has formed a subsidiary, Prairie Catalytic that will own and operate the facility.<\/p>\n
The partners have not confirmed scale of the facility, but Greenyug has avowedly been pursuing a 50 kiloton per year project. Think 15 million gallons per year if you\u2019re relating this back to ethanol volumes.<\/p>\n
Until now, Greenyug had been unable to disclose the name of its partner, referring obliquely only to \u201ccommercializing its Ethyl Acetate technology through a joint venture with a US Midwest-based ethanol producer.\u201d<\/p>\n
What are the drivers?
\nBottom line, strong corn crops and the oil price debacle have reduced ethanol prices significantly, and US ethanol production greatly exceeds demand as a gasoline additive.<\/p>\n
So, along comes Greenyug to take the excess ethanol and convert it to high-value ethyl acetate at costs that are a fraction not only of US \u201cfossil-based companies\u201d but also competing biotech\u2019ers. Or, as it might be said:<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a pep pill for your wet mill when the margin\u2019s in the dumps
\nAnd prices on a treadmill with\u00a0ethanol in the slumps
\nHere\u2019s some high-price ethyl\u00a0acetate for your\u00a0misbegotten crew
\nThe ester for your investor has the brew that is true.<\/p>\n
Old idea, new process
\nEthyl acetate, it\u2019s that sweet-smelling ester\u00a0found in nail polish and glue.\u00a0There, think adhesives, paints, coatings, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, printing inks, packaging and industrial solvents. Not to mention decaffeinating\u00a0tea or coffee.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not rocket science for chemistry kings to find ways to make ethyl acetate from ethanol. What\u2019s new is the simplicity of the process, low capex and low opex process. Specifically, $20 million CAPEX to generate a $19M profit from a 50 kiloton per year EA plant.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what\u2019s been typically used as a fossil-based process.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the Greenyug alternative:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a one-step conversion described as \u201creactive distillation\u201d. For chemistry buffs, here\u2019s how it works out:<\/p>\n
2C2H5OH -> CH3-COO-CH2-CH3+2H2<\/p>\n
As you see, there\u2019s\u00a0some\u00a0tasty hydrogen as well as ethyl acetate.\u00a0Here\u2019s what Greenyug has to say in its most recent patent app:<\/p>\n
A reactive distillation process producing high purity ethyl acetate from ethanol comprises feeding a feed stream comprising ethanol to a reactive distillation column, contacting the ethanol with a catalyst, dehydrogenating ethanol over the catalyst in the liquid phase during the distillation process, removing ethyl acetate during the distillation process as a bottoms product, and removing hydrogen during the distillation process as a top product.<\/p>\n
Looks like sodium bisulfite and sodium sulfite are two inexpensive catalysts at work here, but nickel , aluminum, copper, molybdenum, ruthenium chromium and tungsten pop up in the catalyst sections of the patent app.<\/p>\n
Additional products down the line
\nAnd n-butanol is another potential product as well as \u201cother speciality chemicals\u201d. More abpout that in this patent app here.\u00a0For now, the double-or-more-of-ethanol pricing will keep the group focused on ethyl acetate for now.<\/p>\n
Greenyug developed its technology at its Santa Barbara, California Research Facility and continued the scale-up at its fully integrated demonstration plant in India. Greenyug has developed a proprietary platform to add value to ethanol by upgrading it into a variety of biobased chemicals with broad market appeal.<\/p>\n
Feedstock
\nADM\u2019s corn wet mill in Columbus will supply the project with ethanol feedstock and other services.<\/p>\n
Timeline to scale
\nConstruction of the facility is anticipated to start in late 2016 with production set to begin about a year later.<\/p>\n
About the financing
\nPrairie Catalytic recently executed a Conditional Commitment with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development for a loan guarantee under its Business & Industry Loan Guarantee program. Heartland Bank, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas is serving as the lender of record for the Columbus project. Stern Brothers is serving as financial advisor for project financing.<\/p>\n
Another step forward for ADM after FDME
\nIn January, we reported that DuPont Industrial Biosciences and ADM announced a new breakthrough process in producing FDME from fructose, with \u201cthe potential to expand the materials landscape in the 21st century with exciting and truly novel, high-performance renewable materials\u201d, the companies said in a joint release.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll love it. You\u2019ll need it. You\u2019ll want it. You\u2019ve never heard of it. You have no idea what molecule we are talking about,\u201d we wrote at the time. \u00a0In our 30 Hottest Molecules industry poll earlier this year, down the list but picking up material support, readers recognized furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA), one of the 12 building blocks identified by the U.S. Department of Energy that can be converted into a number of high-value, bio-based chemicals or materials that can deliver high performance in a number of applications.<\/p>\n
Another big step forward for ADM, but we didn\u2019t expect it at a corn wet mill. In February, we reported that oversupply of the ethanol market and weak margins has Archer Daniels Midland looking at other options for its three dry corn milling assets as it attempts to reduce its capital investments by about $1B. The review didn\u2019t look at the five wet milling facilities.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Columbus is a bit of an outlier for DM. It hosts both a wet mill and a dry mill. The wet mill was picked up via acquisition in 2002 and the dry mill opened in 2010. The dry mill is a monster, with 300 million gallons in capacity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Greenyug, we see bioethanol as an excellent feedstock to produce value added bio-based chemicals such as Ethyl Acetate. Securing a reliable and efficient source of quality raw materials is one of the final steps in scaling Greenyug\u2019s patented Ethyl Acetate technology. We are excited to locate our facility next to ADM\u2019s world-class corn processing plant.\u201d said Sagar B. Gadewar, Ph.D., Greenyug\u2019s President and Chief Executive Officer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgreements like this help us maximize the utilization of our corn processing assets and allow us to deliver greater value for our shareholders,\u201d said Paul Woolard, director of commercial development for ADM. \u201cWe are excited to work with partners like Prairie Catalytic to bring new innovations like biobased ethyl acetate to the market.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are excited that Greenyug, LLC. has chosen Columbus, Nebraska, as the site of its next manufacturing plant,\u201d said Governor Pete Ricketts. \u201cTheir substantial investment and the many high-paying, quality jobs will have a major positive impact on the community, along with their decision to locate next to Archer Daniels Midland Company\u2019s Columbus facilities which could pave the way for a potential value-added campus in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStern Brothers is excited to be financing this project for Greenyug with the help of the USDA,\u201d said Stern Brothers managing director John May. \u201cI believe it will be regarded as another landmark project for the bio industry.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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