Henan Tianguan Expands the Capacity of Cellulosic Ethanol

Henan Tianguan Fuel Ethanol Co., Ltd. (Henan Tianguan) plans to launch cellulosic ethanol plants to expand its capacity gradually in next three years, which is expected to reach 120,000t/a in 2014, according to CCM’s October Issue of Industrial Biotechnology China News.

Henan Tianguan will start to construct the plants at the end of 2011, revealed by Mr. Cheng, a staff from the cellulosic ethanol department of Henan Tianguan. As explained by Mr. Cheng, restricted by the distance of raw materials' collection, the company has already decided to construct about 12 plants with capacity of about 10,000t/a respectively in Nanyang City, Henan Province. It is predicted that the plants will consume about 1 million tonnes of straw annually, if the production lines are all launched in the near future. By then, it means that the farmers' revenue in the city will increase by USD46 million per year.

Henan Tianguan has the cellulosic ethanol pilot production line with capacity of 10,000t/a, which has provided the products since 2009. As the first cellulosic ethanol manufacturer with capacity of 10,000t/a, Henan Tianguan is confident with its cost of cellulosic ethanol, which is lower than that in COFCO Corporation.

According to Mr. Cheng, cellulase, one determinant of the cost of cellulosic ethanol, is made by Hennan Tianguan. Compared with other cellulosic ethanol producers, such as COFCO, Mr. Cheng explains that the cellulase research in Henan Tianguan has lasted for a long time,  and the cost of cellulase is much lower than that in COFCO Corporation provided by Novozymes.

Although Henan Tianguan has a bottleneck in cellulase's study at present, it has a new idea to reduce the cost of cellulosic ethanol. The company intends to reduce the cost by other means. It plans to use lignin, the waste from cellulosic ethanol production, to make a new kind of material. For this reason, Henan Tianguan has already contacted with some famous experts in lignin material field from South China University of Technology.

Moreover, a new kind of subsidy will be provided by the Chinese Government. Mr. Cheng reveals that the policy of straw subsidy from the Chinese Government will be established at the end of 2011. It will improve the companies's enthusiasm effectively.  Henan Tianguan's difficulty in cost reduction is prevalent among cellulosic ethanol manufacturers. Due to the cost problems, the Chinese Government accelerates the publication of some policies, like encouraging the companies' development in cellulosic ethanol research. At present, Henan Tianguan producing cellulosic ethanol receives a subsidy of about USD157/t from the Chinese Government, which makes the company maintain the profitability.

The development of cellulosic ethanol in Henan Tianguan reveals that the company is accelerating its development of cellulosic ethanol to occupy a favorable position in cellulosic ethanol industry. Take COFCO as a typical example, as a competitor of Henan Tianguan, COFCO also has some good news of successful R & D from its cooperative partner Novozymes, which can release the pressure from the companies' competition.

Davis Research Laboratory, a rap group from Novozymes California, launches a new kind of cellulase, GH61. It can not only resolve the difficulty of cellulase's hydrolysis but also abundantly express in prokaryotic system through the genetic engineering technology, which will lead to the decline in the cost of cellulosic ethanol.

On August 29, 2011, the group published an article, namely "Insights into Oxidative Degradation of Cellulose by a Copper Metalloenzyme" , mentioning GH61's molecular mechanism. Claus Crone Fuglsang, the operation director of the laboratory indicates that GH61 will be the key feature of Cellic Ctec series' products.

In fact, in order to catch up with Henan Tianguan and outstrip it, COFCO cooperates with Novozymes to speed up its cellulosic ethanol development. Because of the price of Novozymes' cellulase, COFCO has to pay a large sum of money to Novozymes  , which makes it all worthwhile now.   　

Source: Industrial Biotechnology China News 1110

http://www.cnchemicals.com/Newsletter/NewsletterDetail.aspx?id=21

Main content of Industrial Biotechnology China News 1110:

Henan Tianguan expands the capacity of cellulosic ethanol

Guangdong Yudean starts the No.2 biomass generator unit in Zhanjiang

ZTE Energy (Inner Mongolia) to construct the second phase of the sweet sorghum ethanol production line

Swill-cooked dirty oil scandal to bring the bio-diesel manufacturers' opportunities

Angel Yeast accelerating yeast extract's development

Dongbao Bio-Tech takes measures to consolidate its market share

Shandong Polymer to enhance production line of CPAM

Trade analysis of butanol in China

Anqing Hexing succeeds to get a "863" Program

Shenzhen Rainbow continuously explores starch-based materials' clients 

Trade analysis of PLA in China

WMI to establish a new subsidiary

Industrial Biotechnology China News, a monthly publication issued by CCM International on 8th of every month, focuses on biofuels, bio-products, bio-based chemicals, bio-materials and industrial biotechnology applications, offers latest investment hotspots, new technology & product, company & market dynamics, and government regulations, aiming to facilitate your insight into China's industrial biotechnology.

For more information about Industrial Biotechnology China News, please contact us at econtact@cnchemicals.com.

(Guangzhou China, October 9, 2011)