Advantages

Leading economics – The outstanding energy efficiency, selectivity to ethanol and feedstock flexibility of the INEOS Bio second generation bioethanol process result in highly cost-competitive production of ethanol.

Feedstock flexibility - Unlike conventional bioethanol technologies, which use food crops, or even the emerging cellulosic fermentation technologies, which can convert cellulose and hemi-cellulose but not lignin, the INEOS Bio process can convert all ligno-cellulosic materials and other carbon materials into ethanol. The range of organic materials that can be used includes, but is not limited to;
  • The biodegradable portion of municipal waste (BMW), which includes garden and food wastes
  • Organic commercial & industrial wastes (C&I)
  • Contaminated waste wood
  • Forestry wastes (e.g. brash, bark, saw dust, wood chippings)
  • Agricultural wastes (e.g. sugar cane bagasse, corn stover, straw)
  • Lingo-cellulose energy crops (e.g. trees and coppice)

Energy efficient - The winning combination of a thermo-chemical process (gasification) and a low temperature, low pressure biochemical process (bacterial fermentation) with excellent heat integration throughout delivers high energy efficiency.

Biocatalyst advantages – Conventional catalysts used for the conversion of syngas to transport fuels can be expensive to prepare, are easily poisoned, need to be replaced regularly, require high temperatures and pressures, and can have relatively poor selectivity to the target fuel product (e.g. ethanol or diesel). This all translates to relatively high capital and operating costs. In contrast, the proprietary INEOS biocatalyst is low cost, regenerates itself, is tolerant to impurities in the syngas, has extremely high selectivity to ethanol and operates at low temperature and pressure.

Security of energy supply – The feedstock flexibility of the INEOS Bio technology enables almost any country in the world to manufacture a portion of its own road transport fuel from the biomass and wastes it generates. Wherever there are people, wastes are generated and transport fuels are needed. Every major city in the world could potentially have its own INEOS Bio plant or plants.

Climate friendly – When the bioethanol is used as a road transport fuel, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are reduced by at least 90% compared to petrol (gasoline). This outstanding GHG performance puts clear water between INEOS Bioethanol and bioethanol made from sugar and starch crops and from emerging cellulosic fermentation technologies.

Society – The INEOS Bio process enables the production of clean, renewable road transport fuel to be significantly increased and our dependency on fossil fuels reduced without contributing to rising food prices. New jobs and wealth will be created in the waste and renewable fuels sectors.

Reduced pressure on land use - Significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings can be achieved from the road transport sector without increasing pressure on land use, or increasing agrichemical use (e.g. fertilizers and pesticides). The diversion of organic wastes from landfill avoids any harmful effects of landfill.

World changing technology – In summary, the INEOS Bio process has the potential to make a substantial contribution to a more sustainable world.