Terrabon LLC held a dedication ceremony on Nov. 7, to commemorate the opening of its Advanced Biofuels Research Facility in Bryan, Texas. During the ceremony, the facility’s new name, Energy Independence I, was unveiled, according to Terrabon Chief Executive Officer Gary Luce.
The company will produce its trademarked MixAlco technology that converts sorghum and biomass, such as municipal solid waste, into organic salts, ketones and renewable gasoline.
The keynote speaker was Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who petitioned the U.S. EPA earlier this year for a waiver of the renewable fuels standard, which subsequently was denied. Luce said the governor did “a nice job” with his speech. Mark Holtzapple, principal inventor of the MixAlco technology, also spoke at the event.
According to Terrabon, the MixAlco technology has undergone testing for the past three years at its 200-dry-pounds per day pilot plant in College Station, Texas, where it has “proven that the technology can commercially make cellulosic ethanol and renewable gasoline,” the company stated.
The new “semi-works” plant is scaled at using five dry tons per day, primarily sorghum as a primary feedstock, to produce organic salts, which will then be converted to ketones, or carbonylic compounds (e.g., acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, etc.), and then into renewable fuels.
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According to Luce, approximately 150 to 200 people attended the event, which included tours of the facility.