by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, Mercurius Biorefining has furthered its partnership with UC Davis to develop first-of-its-kind technology for production of furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA). While current approaches to the commercialization of FDCA use fructose as a feedstock, the Mercurius-UC Davis process operates from raw biomass.
Early cost estimates from the partners? “It will be lower in cost than competing processes,” says the Davis team.
Why FDCA?
A downstream product of 5-HMF, FDCA is the basis for PEF (polyethylene furanoate), a recyclable polymer with a wide range of applications including fibers and plastic containers.
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The implications on cost will be of wide interest. But also the advance in utilizing cellulosic biomass. With cellulosic sugar availability on an industrial scale becoming more real every day with projects from Comet and Renmatix among others, that’s significant.
What’s the source of a cost advantage? Mercurius’ process is conceptually “faster and less “finicky” than competitors,” in a nutshell. The REACH technology is significantly faster than fermentation – taking 2-3 hours versus 2 or more days. While a few other methods (pyrolysis and gasification) are faster than REACH – they also must handle much higher volumes which require significantly higher capital investment. REACH is more robust than other processes with little sensitivity to impurities in feedstocks and with no use of delicate enzymes or bacteria.
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Mercurius Biorefining continues to develop the proprietary REACH technology at its pilot facility in Maine, converting cellulosic waste feedstock (e.g. organic portion of MSW, agriculture and forestry wastes) into a wide range of products such as drop-in, renewable diesel and aviation fuel. With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Mercurius’ current project partners include the University of Maine and the Purdue University. READ MORE