Terrabon: 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy candidate profile
Terrabon
Based in: Texas
2008-09 ranking: Unranked
Business: Anaerobic mixed culture fermentation followed by chemical conversion of fermentation products into biofuels and bio-chemicals. Depending on chemical pathway chosen, Terrabon can produce mixed primary alcohols (a mix of ethanol, propanol, butanol, pentanol, hexanol and heptanol), mixed secondary alcohols (a mix of isopropanol, 2-butanol, 3-pentanol, 2-pentanol, etc), green gasoline, green diesel and green jet fuel.
Model: Joint venture arrangements with Valero/Waste Management, and licensing arrangements for larger facilities (300 to 500-ton per day) using agricultural and forest residue, food scraps and non-food energy crops as feedstock.
Past milestones:
• Constructed and operated 5-ton per day semi-works plant using sweet sorghum as feedstock;
• Produced ketones, secondary alcohols and gasoline from fermentation broth produced in semi-works plant; and
• Started construction of 300 gal/day pilot plant for gasoline and jet fuel production.
Future milestones:
• Operation of 300-gal/day pilot plant for green gasoline production using products from fermentation of various feedstock, including municipal solid waste and various non-food energy crops;
• Construct and operate 55-ton per day integrated bio-refinery to produce 1.3 million-gal/year of green gasoline using post-sorted municipal solid waste (MSW) and primary sewage sludge as feedstock; and
• Construct five (5) 220-ton per day MSW bio-refineries (each with production capacity of 5.5 million gal/year) optimally sited between Waste Management’s MSW operations and Valero refineries.
Metrics: Annual revenues 2009 (projected) – $2,000,000. *Fuel cost (per gallon) – $2.00 per gallon for 220-ton per day MSW plant (breakeven cash conversion costs of $1.15 per gallon). In the case of MSW, over 72% of the feedstock’s energy content survives the conversion processes, even when the undigested residue is not used as a heat source for the process, while mass is reduced by over 60%, enabling low cost product transportation and significantly lower amounts of residual waste destined for landfills;
Terrabon quotable quotes:
“Low capital costs for small scale 220-ton per day facilities ($7.50 per annual gallon) – because the mixed culture fermentation does not require sterile vessels or piles to enable efficient fermentation) and low operating costs ($2.00 per gallon – because the process can use a broad array of cellulosic feedstock, including MSW typically destined for a landfill where the attendant costs of collection and transporting are already incurred, effectively making its embedded energy value cost-free).”
” Feedstock advantage in using sustainable, low cost and readily available feedstock in the form of MSW, primary sewage sludge and urban wood residues as well as set the stage to extend this platform into agriculture waste streams such as corn stover and energy crops such as sorghum.”
The Hot 50 for 2009-10 will be released Tuesday, 12/1. Between now and then, you’ll see profiles of potential candidates in the Digest, and you’ll have a chance to vote for your favorites. Reader response will count for 50 percent of a company’s overall score in the preparation of the rankings. The remaining 50 percent is voted by a panel of experts.
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