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Take a Tour of Iogen’s Demonstration Plant 
(WMV file 5.67MB)
Iogen operates the world's first demonstration facility, opened in 2004, where clean-burning cellulosic ethanol fuel is made from agricultural residues. The demonstration plant, located at 300 Hunt Club Rd. East in Ottawa, is designed to prove the feasibility of Iogen's cellulosic ethanol process by validating equipment performance and identifying and overcoming production problems prior to the construction of larger plants. The plant can handle all functions involved in the production of cellulosic ethanol, including: receipt and pretreatment of up to 30 tonnes per day of feedstock; conversion of cellulose fibre into glucose; fermentation; and distillation. Wheat, oat and barley straw are used as raw materials.
At full capacity Iogen’s demonstration plant is designed to process about 20-30 tonnes per day of feedstock, and to produce approximately 5,000 – 6,000 litres of cellulosic ethanol per day.
The fuel, produced from the Ottawa demonstration facility is being purchased by Royal Dutch Shell for use in fuel applications, reinforcing the commercial alliance between Shell and Iogen and helping to accelerate the deployment of next generation biofuels.
The cellulosic ethanol has been used in a variety of real world applications around the world since 2004. In 2009, Iogen became the first cellulosic ethanol producer to sell its advanced biofuel at a retail service station. For a one month period, a 10% cellulosic ethanol blend was available for sale to the general consumers at an Ottawa Shell station. More than 60,000 litres of Iogen’s cellulosic ethanol was sold.
Other demonstrations of Iogen’ cellulosic ethanol include:
Demo Plant Image Gallery
Feedstock
While Iogen’s demonstration plant uses wheat straw, other potential feedstocks have been researched:
- Corn stover
- Switch grass
- Miscanthus (elephant grass)
- Oat/barley straw
- Sugarcane bagasse
- Hard wood chips (though collection in such large quantities is labour intensive and cost prohibitive) (Note: soft wood is not compatible with Iogen’s technology)
To be used with Iogen's cellulosic ethanol process, a feedstock must have at least 60% carbohydrate content, and to remain cost effective, must be available in large quantities.
Enzyme Manufacturing Plant
Iogen's enzyme manufacturing facility produces food-grade and industrial-grade enzymes for use in the pulp and paper, textile, and animal feed industries. The enzyme plant employs innovative automated production systems and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Iogen is committed to offering consistent, reliable enzymes that meet the performance expectations of its customers. The company's manufacturing operation is ISO 9001:2000 compliant, and makes products using application-based test methods to validate the product performance.
Process
Technology Innovations
Pretreatment
Iogen developed an efficient pretreatment method to increase the surface area and "accessibility" of the plant fibre to enzymes. We achieve this through our modified steam explosion process. This improves ethanol yields, increases pretreatment efficiency, and reduces overall cost.
Enzyme Production
Iogen has new, highly potent and efficient cellulase enzyme systems tailored to the specific pretreated feedstock. Iogen already has a worldwide business making enzymes for the pulp and paper, textiles and animal feed industries.
Enzymatic Hydrolysis
Iogen developed reactor systems that feature high productivity and high conversion of cellulose to glucose. This is accomplished through separate hydrolysis and fermentation using a multi-stage hydrolysis process.
Ethanol
Fermentation
Iogen uses advanced microorganisms and fermentation systems that convert both C6 and C5 sugars into ethanol. The "beer" produced by fermentation is then distilled using conventional technology to produce cellulosic ethanol for fuel grade applications.
Process Integration
Large-scale process designs include energy efficient heat integration, water recycling, and co-product production that make the overall process efficient and economical. Iogen has successfully validated these improvements within its demonstration scale cellulosic ethanol facility.
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