Report: Bioenergy Deployment Consortium Fall Symposium
In Canada, the Biofuels Development Consortium held their 2013 Fall Symposium a little early this year in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada on August 27–28, its first meeting outside the U.S.
Sarnia is known for their petroleum industry and especially the industrial cluster concept, which has resulted in the locating of several companies, which either provide feedstock to the petroleum industry or use products from the refineries.
The Bio industrial Innovations Center (BIC) is working to deploy bio companies in Sarnia, consistent with the Cluster Concept. Members heard from and toured pilot and demonstration sized plants within the Center, including KmX, a unique liquids separation company, GreenCore, a Biocomposites company, and Woodland Biofuels, a 2nd generation ethanol thermal chemical process company.
BDC has its meetings in locations where members can tour a biofacility. The symposiums consist of one day of presentations and updates and the morning of the second day touring the biofacility. Presentations included a keynote from Craig Crawford, president and CEO of the Canadian Bio Auto Council and updates on progress from member company Green Biologics and non member companies Old Town Fuel and Fiber (OTTF) and Gevo.
At the meeting, USDA and DOE provided updates, plus members heard about Canadian policy and investment opportunity from new member Jena Francois Levasseur of the Natural Resources Canada and the Investment in Forest Industry Transformation.
Members were treated to an after dinner presentation by Len Humphreys, CEO of Licella, new BDC member from Australia. Licella has a unique and low cost wet oxidation process for converting wet biomass to biocrude oil and water soluble chemicals.
Licella has scaled their pilot plant twice to 100 times the original small pilot at in Somersby, AU, is planning a commercial plant in New Zealand, and is seeking a partner to build a commercial plant in North America.
Don Guay, following the presentation said “The Licella process is very intriguing due to its ability to produce a drop in product from a wide variety of feedstocks without the need for drying”.
Category: Fuels
