Our

Federal: 1997 Farm Bill, $14 million

appropriation under the Research Title.

Creation State: 1997, Capital Grant of $7 million,

administered by Illinois Department of
Commerce & Economic Opportunity.

Ground Broken: October, 2001

Doors Opened: October 2003

 • To facilitate the commercialization of new
technologies for producing biofuels more

Our effectively!
• To utilize our relationships with

Mission
government, industry, academia and trade
to conduct both private sector and grant
funded research!
• To advocate, educate and motivate
consumers and elected officials on the
benefits of biofuels.
• To develop and provide hands-on
training to prepare the biofuels
workforce of tomorrow!
Service Capabilities

 Pilot Testing:
 4 x 6,000 gal fermentors
 “Plug and play” configuration
 Front-end dry-grind fractionation
 Fermentation Suite:
 30-150-1500 L sterilizable vessels
 Integrated with Pilot Plant and Lab
 Pretreatment capabilities
 Laboratory
 Fermentation: 0.1 to 5 L
 Fully equipped QA/QC lab
 Opportunities for Collaborative Partnerships!
• Illinois Department of Agriculture

• Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity

• United States Department of Agriculture

• United States Department of Energy

• United States Department of Labor

• Private Sector

• Trade Organizations
 Our Efforts
Fat/oil analysis Feedstock characterization

Process optimization
Human nutrition

Cellulosic ethanol Quality assurance and control

Advanced biofuels Grain fractionation

Specialty chemicals Bioprocessing

Process scaleup Proof of concept
 Ten years later …………

Commercialization of New Technologies

More than 50 technologies that have passed through our doors are now in
the commercial marketplace.

Hands-on Training and Education

58/62 interns went directly to work in the private sector.
93% of NCERC’s 600 workforce development trainees are now employed in
the biofuels, chemical, and petroleum industries.
Ethanol Is Not
New

Lincoln, Nebraska
1933
 Renewable Fuels Standard

 Presidential Signing: On Wednesday December 19,

2007 President George W. Bush signed into law the:
“Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007”.

 Highlights of the Energy Bill: 36 billion gallons of

Renewable Fuels by the Year 2022:
1. 15 billion gallons of ethanol derived from corn.
2. 21 billion gallons of advanced & cellulosic biofuels.
10
EPA Staff Deliberative Draft: Do not cite, quote, or distribute 11
Advanced Biofuels Initiative

Enabling NCERC to pursue research projects in the

advanced biofuels space
 Cellulosic Feedstocks

Switch Grass Corn Cobs

Sugar Cane

Woody Biomass Wood Chips Stover

Cellulosic Feedstocks

Corn Fiber
Cellulosic ethanol from corn
right here, right now!
Why study corn kernel
fiber?
 Other Reasons…

 Cellulosic material is already at the ethanol plant

 The industrial infrastructure is already in place

 It increases the yields up to 5-10% per bushel of corn.

 It lowers the carbon footprint of existing ethanol plants.

 New value-added co-products will become available

 It is a bridge to new technologies!

 Work at NCERC: Timeline

2007-2008: Steam activation, characterization*

2008-2009: Chemical pretreatment ,

characterization*

2009-2010: Pretreatment, viscosity and

enzymatic hydrolysis tests*

2011: Recombinant yeast evolution

2011-2013: Corn fiber fermentations (1-150L)*

*By Specific Cooperative Agreement with the USDA

 Scale Up Results: 30 L

 Corn fiber feedstock

 Unmodified S. Cerevisiae

 Ethanol Yield: 8% of corn

fermentation

 Conversion efficiency: 97% (no

xylose)
 Scale Up Results: 150 L

 EVG-51 on pure corn fiber (<8%

starch)

 Fermentation complete after 48

hours

 100% glucose, 72% xylose

consumed
 Current goals

 Feedstock tests
 Corn fiber  corn mash
 Front-end vs. back-end
 Process optimization
 Reproducibility
 Scale-up
 Yeast Strain Selection
Summary of Cellulosic Ethanol

 Demonstrated reproducible scale-up

 Achieved full conversion of sugars in as low as 48 hours

 Utilized both natural and modified S.Cerevisiae

 Corn mash conversion consistent with corn fiber results

 Ability to identify starch vs. cellulose contribution to yield

 Process under provisional patent

 Acknowledgements

 IL Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

 Illinois Corn Marketing Board

 Specific Cooperative Agreement with U.S. Department of Agriculture

For more information, contact:

John Caupert
Executive Director
618-659-6737 ext. 226
jcaupert@ethanolresearch.com