Bio-TCat™ for Renewable Chemicals & Fuels

A New Process to Produce Renewable Biofuels and Bio-based Chemicals as an Alternative to Petro-based Products

Anellotech's core technology, Thermal Catalytic Biomass Conversion (Bio-TCat) was developed to produce chemicals and fuels from renewable, non-food biomass. Based on scientific research initially performed in Professor George Huber's laboratory at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the process has subsequently been developed by Anellotech. Bio-TCat is covered under issued patents and filed patent applications owned by Anellotech, as well as those licensed on an exclusive and global basis from the University of Massachusetts.
 
Anellotech’s patented Bio-TCat technology produces a mixture of benzene, toluene and xylene (AnelloMate™ BTX), which are bio-based and chemically identical to petroleum-derived counterparts.
 
In addition to AnelloMate BTX, Bio-TCat technology produces a heavier aromatics product, AnelloMate Distillate, which can be upgraded into a high-quality biofuels blendstock for jet or diesel transportation fuel using conventional refinery processing. Cellulosic ethanol or hydrogen can be made from Bio-TCat’s carbon monoxide co-product by using third-party technology. Anellotech intends to work with governmental authorities to qualify these products as cellulosic fuels to benefit from RINs and other subsidies and mandates.
 
 

Competitive Advantages

Cost-Competitiveness:  By using a one-reactor catalytic process, Anellotech has a real competitive advantage. Also, by using renewable and readily available non-food materials, such as wood, corn stover and bagasse, the Bio-TCat process is less expensive compared to processes relying on sugar as a feedstock, and avoids competition with the food chain. As a result, these renewable-sourced chemicals are expected to be produced and sold profitably against identical, petroleum-derived counterparts.

Process Efficiency: Bio-TCat performs all process reactions in one fluid bed reactor, where biomass is thermally broken down and then catalytically converted into BTX and heavier aromatics. This single step process uses a cost-effective catalyst being jointly developed with Johnson Matthey, to produce aromatics with commercially-attractive yields. By going directly from biomass to aromatics in one step, Anellotech does not make highly-oxygenated bio-oil intermediate products, often seen in multi-step pyrolysis processes, and so avoids the need to add significant amounts of costly hydrogen.

Sustainability Impact: Since Bio-TCat generates the required process energy from the biomass feedstock itself, the bio-aromatics products are manufactured with a very low carbon footprint. Anellotech's life cycle analysis, validated by Jacobs Engineering, showed a greenhouse gas reduction potential of 70% or more when compared to petroleum-derived equivalents. If Bio-TCat products are used as renewable gasoline and distillate fuel blendstocks rather than polymer feedstocks, the reduction potential exceeds 90% as these are burned to make energy.



 




 

 


 


 

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