Sugar Cane Waste Put To Good Use

The latest generation of KLE's process design provides for substantial enhancements over the first generation, implemented in 2008 at the company's demonstration plant in Upton, Wyoming using Ponderosa Pine feedstock, including the ability to be optimised for multiple feedstocks.

As part of this agreement, Petrobras will provide $ 11 million to adapt KLE's demonstration facility to the use of bagasse, validate the optimised process by producing cellulosic ethanol and bio-lignin from bagasse in multiple campaigns and license the technology.

In parallel, Petrobras and KLE will jointly work on an industrial scale Bagasse based cellulosic ethanol plant project that shall be fully integrated into a sugarcane mill belonging to the Petrobras Group in Brazil slated to go on stream in 2013 and capable of producing 15 million litres per year.

"Petrobras views cellulosic ethanol as a very promising technology to substantially increase the ethanol output by some 40% without increasing the planted area output and further improve the carbon footprint of its sugarcane mills. This agreement with KLE will considerably accelerate this development effort and we are optimistic about the commercial potential of the optimised technology platform," stated Miguel Rossetto, CEO of Petrobras Biocombustível.

The agreement, which has an initial term of 18 months and provides for mutual exclusivity in the area of developing cellulosic ethanol from bagasse, provides Petrobras with the option to enter into a technology license for the use of KLE's technology within Petrobras Group assets.

"Brazil is the global leader in the production of affordable biofuels and biomass, and we believe that bagasse is a perfect feedstock for our process. KLE plans to be at the forefront of the emerging cellulosic ethanol market in Brazil," said Peter Gross, President and CEO of KL Energy Corporation. "We are very excited about this opportunity and we can think of no better partner for this endeavour than Petrobras, a company globally recognized for its technological competence, social and environmental responsibility and its investments in clean energies."

KLE's commercial demonstration facility in Upton, Wyoming (US) is, to the company's knowledge, one of the first demonstration facilities of its type to produce cellulose-based ethanol and bio-lignin products from wood waste. The facility uses KLE's proprietary thermo-mechanical pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis process, in what the company believes is one of the most environmentally friendly processes in the sector, which can be adapted for various non-food feedstocks. In addition, KLE provides engineering, optimisation and technical services for biofuels facilities.