Energy Savings

GlycosBio’s fuels and chemicals represent a new way to bio-based manufacturing. Because we have designed the production of those chemicals to meet the highest economic incentives, it just follows that our process enjoys large savings in energy use and achieves minimal environmental impact. Our comparison is the analogous petrochemical route (or other bio-based route).This manifests itself in five value-added elements of energy utilization.

Design & Practice »

Feedstock Use Our feedstock flexibility is the single largest contributor to reducing the energy demand in our process. We select targeted waste or “eco-negative” streams, often from industrial processes that obviate the need for treatment or disposal, and can be used without pre-processing.

Metabolic Engineering Wise product selection should align chemical energy demand (along the reaction path) with the feedstock. When we direct the reaction taking glycerin to ethanol, we minimize those pathways that divert energy from the critical reaction pathway. This results in conserving chemical energy that would otherwise require external input, and enables a leaner fermentation reaction.

Bioreaction Design & Operation Of course, proper design and operation of the bioreactor can mean large savings in energy & power conserved. The reactor itself is specified to minimize heat and power demand, respective to each reaction. Because the microorganisms are extremely efficient, each reaction can be managed to minimize utilities.

Downstream Recovery Once product is made in the bioreactor, subsequent steps accomplish an effective recovery without need for the most energy intensive process steps. And because the bioreaction itself optimizes product concentration, much of the heat and power otherwise required in a thermochemical production is intelligently conserved.

Product Use Products made by GlycosBio often are produced in a molecular form that needs no further modification, thus no further energy applied to reaction steps. GlycosBio designs each bioprocess to meet the requirements of existing large-market chemicals. Further, many of our products break down into new precursor molecules that can be used as new “feedstocks” themselves.