Why Advance Cellulosic Biorefineries for Chemical Production and Pulping? Alternative Energy Solutions From Alabama’s Natural Resources Conference October 23rd and 24 th 2006 Auburn University, Alabama Ed Lehrburger, President PureVision Technology, Inc. 511 N. McKinley Ave., Fort Lupton, CO (USA)

Macro Energy Trends in U.S. National security = energy Independence Mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Without cheap oil & gas, renewable energy will dominate the 21 st Century We are beginning to see a major shift toward renewable energy. RE = solar, wind and biomass

Biomass as a Renewable Energy Burning cellulosics for heat and energy Starch-to-alcohol/ethanol Oils to biodiesel Biomass gasification Fischer-Tropsch processes (syngas-to-liquid fuels) Acid hydrolysis of cellulosics Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosics Other conversion technologies on horizon

Government Law & Policy on Ethanol EPACT 2005 = 7.5 billion gal/yr by 2012, (>5 billion corn ethanol in 2006) Corn ethanol = >98% of U.S. ethanol with ~ 100 existing plants and another 40 presently under construction Research & development of $300 million over 5 years for cellulosic ethanol

Conventional Ethanol Vs. Cellulosic Ethanol Primary feedstock for ethanol in U.S. is corn kernels (starch). Primary feedstock in Brazil is sugar cane juice. Neither corn or sugar cane contain lignin, a binder in cellulosic feedstocks. Lignin makes conversion (hydrolysis) to sugars difficult. Cellulosic biomass = cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin = trees, agricultural residues, energy crops cardboard and paper. Efficient conversion of cellulosics to sugars will require some form of pretreatment.

Growing Belief Corn Ethanol Is Not The Ultimate Answer Corn is a valuable food source We don’t have enough land to grow corn for a source of food and energy Corn requires a lot of water and fertilizers 80% of all U.S. corn is grown in five states Corn ethanol is subsidized Corn ethanol energy balance has a modest gain at best

Wide Belief Cellulosic Ethanol is the Ultimate Answer Cellulosic feedstocks grow in all 50 states Cellulose is not a food source Cellulosics will become the “new crude oil” Cellulosics require less or no fertilizers Cellulosics may not require yearly planting Cellulosic ethanol significantly improves GHG benefits verses corn ethanol = fewer pollutants (CO and benzene)

Energy Balance of Corn vs. Cellulosic Ethanol Corn ethanol is generally recognized to have a positive energy balance of 1.34 units of energy output for every 1 unit of energy input on a BTU basis. Cellulosic ethanol is believed to have a positive energy balance somewhere in the range of 2.6 to 5 for every 1 unit of energy input.

Cellulosic Conversion Technologies Visible Today Masada--Concentrated acid hydrolysis Arkenol--Concentrated acid hydrolysis BCI--Dilute acid hydrolysis Iogen--Enzymatic hydrolysis Abengoa --Enzymatic hydrolysis DuPont--Enzymatic hydrolysis PureVision--Fractionation and enzymatic hydrolysis Others

PureVision Biorefinery Schematic

Biomass Feed Extruder Barrel Motor = Dynamic plugs Water/Acid In Alkali In 1 st stage liquor Feedstock Wetting 1 st Stage: Countercurrent Hot Water/Acid Extraction 2 nd Stage Cocurrent Alkali Extraction Water In Discharge Valve PureVision’s Continuous Process Development Unit (PDU) in situ S/L separation Lignin stream Cellulose product S/L separation

Benefits of PureVision’s Process New processing regime –Employs countercurrent processing –Closed loop approach minimizes waste and minimizes reagent use –Separates biomass into 3 distinct product streams –Produces a “pure” cellulose stream –Produces a non-sulfur, low molecular weight lignin Sugar platform –Reduces enzyme use for ethanol production –Reduces conversion time Pulp and paper platform –Non polluting process, reduces chemical and water demand –Provides valuable lignin co-product

PureVision Pulping Platform A new pulping method. Potential replacement for 150 year old kraft process. Closed loop pulping uses extruder, which reduces residence (pulping) time New process reduces reagent use and effluent emissions compared to kraft Potential for significant energy and water reduction in pulping process.

Current PureVision Collaborations Academia: Auburn University University of Utah University of Colorado Louisiana State University Government: DOE, NREL, ORNL Weyerhaeuser Paper International Paper PPG Harris Group Engineering Entek Extruders Patout & Son

President Bush Discusses Renewable Energy at St. Louis Convention Center, St. Louis, Mi ssouri October 12, 2006 “I talked to a fellow from Auburn, he's a Ph.D. -- just reminded me the difference between a Ph.D. and a C student; the C student is the President, and the Ph.D. is the advisor.” “But he's telling me how optimistic he is that someday we're going to be able to take wood chips from those southern pine forests, and convert that raw material into ethanol. He said it's right around the corner, as far as he's concerned.” “So you've got a lot of plants here in the Midwest. The vision has got to be for these plants to be able to spread throughout the entire country. And when it does, ethanol will become a primary source for the fuel people use, which will help us meet our national security and economic concerns and objectives.”

Challenges and Conclusions There are no commercial-scale cellulosic biorefineries Renewable Energy Standard = 250 million gal. of C.E. Govt. must invest in cellulosic conversion technologies PureVision is seeking to collaborate with industry, academia and government to advance its technology Continue to attract strategic partners with the focus on developing commercial projects PureVision reactive fractionation technology –Novel process employs countercurrent processing for cellulosics –Processing biomass-to-pulp, sugars and ethanol in infancy –3 product streams: hemicellulose, lignin, cellulose –Reduced reagent use, minimal waste products PureVision is fractionating biomass only at small scale –In the process of scaling up to a t/d prototype –Benefits are evident but need quantification

Acknowledgments: PureVision Technology, Inc. would especially like to thank: -Auburn University for sponsoring this alternative energy conference. -U.S. Department of Energy and the -U.S. National Science Foundation for providing financial assistance awards to support PureVision research and development initiatives.

Greenfield Pulp Production via PureVision Process No sulfur Hydrogen sulfide,Methyl mercaptan & Dimethyl sulfide/disulfide No chlorine Chlorophenolics, Dioxins (PCDD) and Furans (PCDF) and Chloroform and other neutral chlorinated compounds Bioethanol produced from xylan fraction Lower GHG emissions Pulp and paper production –About 57 million t/yr of pulp, U.S. the largest producer and consumer. Kraft process dominates >70% of North America pulping capacity ~ 700 lb per capita per year Benefits need quantification