result has been the creation of a financially sustainable solution for breaking down a variety of feedstocks and solid waste for the production of methanol and cellulosic ethanol. Enerkem currently has two fa-cilities operational in Quebec, with a pilot plant in Sherbrooke and a commercial dem-onstration plant in Westbury. Two facilities similar to the Edmonton project are also in development, with one in Varennes, Que-bec (in partnership with GreenField Etha-nol) and the other in Pontotoc, Mississippi. Enerkem’s four-step thermochemical process involves the preparation of feed-stock, gasification of the feedstock, the cleaning and conditioning of syngas, and then catalytic synthesis. “We produce chemical-grade syngas that is suitable for many applications,” explains David Lynch, general manager of research and development for Enerkem. “We then use commercially available catalysts to pro-duce end products like methanol and cel-lulosic ethanol.” Methanol can be used as the end prod-uct, providing a saleable product for the commercial market without going through the secondary refinement stage. However, Enerkem is committed to the production of cellulosic ethanol at the facilities it has built. The plant being constructed at the waste management facility in Edmonton is based on a standard plant design from Enerkem that consists of prefabricated modules. The six-acre plant site is strate-gically located between the demonstration plant and the feedstock preparation facil-ity, and will have the foundation in place to double in size should future demand require the plant’s expansion. refining the technOlOgy The commercial-scale plant being built in Edmonton follows extensive testing and analysis done at the company’s demonstra-tion and pilot plants in Quebec. The dem-onstration facility, located in Westbury, allowed Enerkem to confirm the process design of its proprietary technology for its deployment at its full-scale commer-cial plant in Edmonton. Today, the facil-ity produces fuel-grade cellulosic ethanol from waste. In addition to its commercial facility under construction, Enerkem has delivered a smaller-scale system for the Advanced Energy Research Facility operated by the City of Edmonton on the same site. Built at a 5% scale of the commercial plant, the Advanced Energy Research Facility has the ability to process a broad range of waste and biomass feedstocks and to utilize the syngas produced to evaluate numerous down-stream technologies. This plant is linked to a research lab found in the same facility, which has been performing a series of tests focused on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from waste and biomass sources. Analytical services for the commercial plant will also be managed through the lab. The demonstration plant and lab also provides an opportunity to research other end products that could be produced. Gasification optimization was the initial role of the research facility, but with the methanol and ethanol creation processes refined, that focus has been broadened to look at applying the Enerkem technology to new and existing Alberta industries. “The primary focus of the research BIOMASS SOLUTIONS TO POWER TOMORROW ProcessBarron has 30 years of experience in designing and fabricating biomass fuel, air & ash handling systems. ProcessBarron has the know-how to get the most out of your biomass systems. AIR HANDLING FUEL HANDLING ASH HANDLING See How We Helped a Plant Go Green www.processbarron.com/biomass (888) 663-2028 Canadian BIOMASS 19
Canadian Biomass January/February 2013: Page 19
