‘Advances in Sustainable Sugar Technology’
10th Annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology
Montreal, June 2013
Fred Moesler, Chief Technology Officer
© Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Renmatix: The Bridge To Renewable Materials
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Cellulosic sugars are building blocks for
biochemicals and biofuels
Renmatix has developed the Plantrose™
process to produce cellulosic sugars at a
competitive price
• Sugars enable renewable materials
• Competitive economics enables value chain
Key to our advantage over traditional
routes, is Supercritical Hydrolysis
(SCH)
Biomass
Conversion
Technology
Chemicals
& Fuels
Upstream
Downstream
Economic Disruption Enabled By New, Supercritical Hydrolysis, Technology
© Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Biomass
Conversion
Technology
Chemicals
& Fuels
Upstream
Downstream
What Is Supercritical Hydrolysis?
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Supercritical hydrolysis is a chemical
process in which water in its supercritical
state is used to convert biomass into
cellulosic sugar. Water becomes supercritical
at around 374 Deg C and 221 bar, known as
its critical point where distinct liquid and gas
phases do not exist. Under these conditions,
water serves as a solvent extracting C6 sugar
(glucose) from cellulose plant matter. Lignin
remains as a solid particle.
Supercritical water has a history of application
in nuclear processes, such as heat transfer
and integration, but has not widely been
explored in biomass conversion. Private
company, Renmatix, based in King of
Prussia, Pennsylvania, has developed a
supercritical hydrolysis technology to convert
a range of non-food biomass feedstocks into
cellulosic sugars for application in
biochemicals and biofuels. It has a
demonstration facility in Georgia currently
capable of processing three dry tons of
hardwood biomass into cellulosic sugar daily.
Supercritical hydrolysis is considered a
method of green chemistry for using water as
the solvent rather than hazardous
substances. Other methods of extracting
sugar from biomass include enzymatic
hydrolysis and acid hydrolysis.
Hydrolyzing Cellulose with
Super Critical Water Water as solvent and catalyst
Heat and Pressure
Economically attractive Parity with food based, today
Supercritical hydrolysis Moving beyond traditional routes…
© Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Plantrose™ Process (Fast & Flexible Platform)
Xylose liquor
Glucose liquor
Lignin
Hemicellulose Hydrolysis
reactor
Supercritical Hydrolysis
(SCH) reactor
SCH solid/liquid separation
Sugars • Woody
Biomass
• Agricultural
Residues
• Energy
Grasses
• Waste
Sources
Biomass
Hemicellulose solid/liquid separation
Very Fast Reaction Products Feedstock
4 © Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved
“Coolest” Technology In The World Is Useless If
End Product Is Too Expensive
Value From Renewable Feedstocks Is Unlocked By
Conversion Technology That Meets Key Criteria
5
© Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved
1. End product must meet downstream
partner targets • In both quality and cost
2. Cost Effective = ‘All in’ Economics • Not just Operating Expense, or
Capital Expense, ALL in
3. Conversion process should be
flexible, ideally biomass agnostic
• Not everything grows everywhere
• Customer selection of location
can/will determine feedstock choice
4. Technology must be scalable.
Renmatix Unlocks Large Scale Cost-Competitive
Cellulosic Volumes With Targeted Investments
6 © Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved
KOP, World-Class Analytical Bioflex Conversion Unit Kennesaw D3K Demo
Industry Leaders & Senior U.S. Policy Makers, Recognize
The Impact Of Commercializing Plantrose™ Technology
Renmatix honored to host visits
from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture,
Tom Vilsack & Senator Bob Casey
Commissioned our BCU
Opened our Analytical Labs
Awards from leading organizations
in the chemical & energy industry,
selected from international peers
IChemE Bioprocessing
Platts Global Energy
Fast Company - World’s Most
Innovative
CERA Energy Innovation Pioneers
World Markets Sustainable Biofuels
7 © Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Renmatix Technology Has Been Validated By
Industry Leading Strategic Investors & Project Partners
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• Market leading industry
engagement
• Progressive approach and
low cost feedstock
• $750M MOU signed for
multi-project financing
Series C: Top Three Private Placements In The Biobased Industry For 2012
© Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Licensing Renmatix Conversion Technology
Will Enable Upstream Partners To Move Downstream
9 © Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Summary
10
Renmatix Has Combined The:
Team, Technology, Economics, And Strategic
Partners To Enable Expansion & Acceleration
Of The Bio-Based Industry
Thank you.
© Copyright 2013 Renmatix, Inc. All Rights Reserved