Clariant: Biofuels Digest’s 2014 5-Minute Guide

February 17, 2014 |

Company description:

Clariant is an internationally active specialty chemical company, based in Muttenz near Basel. The group owns over 100 companies worldwide and employed 22 149 employees on December 31, 2011. In the financial year 2011, Clariant produced a turnover of CHF 7.4 billion. Clariant is divided into eleven business units: Additives; Catalysis & Energy; Emulsions, Detergents & Intermediates; Functional Materials; Industrial & Consumer Specialties; Leather Services; Masterbatches; Oil & Mining Services; Paper Specialties; Pigments; Textile Chemicals.

Clariant focuses on creating value by investing in future profitable and sustainable growth, which is based on four strategic pillars: Improving profitability, innovation as well as research and development, dynamic growth in emerging markets, and optimizing the portfolio through complementary acquisitions or divestments.

The main focus of Clariant’s Biotech & Renewables Center is on bio-catalysis and bio-refining. The company develops energy-efficient processes for the manufacture of biomass-based chemicals and fuels. Clariant has developed the sunliquid technology which uses enzymatic hydrolysis followed by fermentation to produce second generation cellulosic bio-ethanol from wheat straw or other agricultural residues.

Rankings

50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy: #87, 2012-13

Past Milestones 

The sunliquid process has been developed by Clariant since 2006. Since 2009 the company has successfully been testing the technology in pilot scale. In July 2012, Clariant has started operating a demonstration plant for the sustainable and economic production of cellulosic ethanol via its sunliquid process. The plant has a capacity of 1000 tons of ethanol per year and processes about 4500 tons of wheat straw or other agricultural residues.

In January 2014, Clariant, Haltermann, and Mercedes-Benz have joined forces to demonstrate the effectiveness of sunliquid®20 with 20 % ethanol from straw as high-quality fuel for optimal driving performance.

Clariant is the the ethanol producer, using its sunliquid process. Haltermann then mixes the cellulosic ethanol with conventional fuel components to form the new fuel. The production of cellulosic ethanol is virtually CO2-neutral, saving almost 100 % of CO2 emissions when compared to gasoline. There is no competition with food production or for agricultural acreage. A high octane number (RON) of over 100 guarantees optimal efficiency.

In September 2013, Clariant received the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) for its sunliquid® demonstration plant in Straubing (Germany), which was opened in July 2012. The certificate confirms that the cellulosic ethanol from agricultural residues produced with the sunliquid® technology is compliant with the sustainability criteria set out in the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED).

Future Milestones

This plant constitutes the last step before the realization of large scale industrial plants which are aimed for in 2014/2015.

In June 2013, the company reported that it was engaged in discussions with unnamed parties to become partners for an ethanol plant that will utilize its Sunliquid enzyme technology. In an interview with Bloomberg, Clariant’s Biofuels and Derivatives head, Mark Rarbach is quoted as stating, “We are in close and advanced discussions with partners about commercialization of the technology.” Rarbach was working on the Sunliquid technology at Sued-Chemie, and continued after the 2011 acquistion of Sued by Clariant. The technology converts agricultural waste to produce ethanol. The article describes the plant being discussed as having an annual capacity as high as 150,000 tons.

Business Model:

The business model is to license the technology to interested parties. The sunliquid process is intended for all those clients interested in one-stop licensing of an uncomplicated, full-scale turnkey process for the economic production of cellulosic ethanol. This is not limited solely to a customized concept for a turnkey plant. Clariant also supplies all the components required for cost-effective operation of the production plant, including for instance starter cultures for producing enzymes and ethanol, as well as a special technology for energy efficient ethanol separation.

Competitive Edge(s): The sunliquid® process for cellulosic ethanol matches the ambitious targets for economically and ecologically sustainable production and greenhouse gas reduction. It was developed using an integrated design concept. Highly optimized, feedstock and process specific biocatalysts and microorganisms ensure a highly efficient process with improved yields and feedstock-driven production costs. Integrated, on-site enzyme production further reduces production costs substantially and assures independence from external suppliers. Simultaneous C5 and C6 fermentation increases ethanol yields by 50%. A proprietary and innovative ethanol separation method cuts energy demand by up to 50% compared to standard distillation. Thus, the energy derived from the byproducts like lignin and fermentation meet the entire electricity and heat demand of the production process, leading to close to 100% GHG reductions of the resulting ethanol.

Stage:  Demonstration

Company website

Project information

Location: Straubing, Germany

Materials or products produced: cellulosic ethanol

Capacity (Millions of US gallons per years): 335.000

Year, month in service: 2012, July

Status: (Open, Under Construction, Planned): open

Feedstock: agricultural residues (corn stover, wheat straw, bagasse)

Processing technology (e.g. advanced fermentation, enzymatic hydrolysis): entire process for cellulosic ethanol production, including pre-treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, integrated enzyme production, fermentation and ethanol separation

Category: 5-Minute Guide

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