The Demonstration Unit

Like all industrial processes, ours began in the small-scale environment of the laboratory. But unlike many others, ours transferred extremely easily to a larger, industrial application.

Indeed, this is one of the most exciting aspects of the TMO project: the process is supremely ‘scaleable’ and simply by using equipment of the appropriate capacity, will operate smoothly on whatever scale is deemed commercially viable by the customer.

To prove this point in the most practical way possible, we completed in 2007 the engineering details for a demonstration plant on an industrial scale, and construction began during the summer.

By the end of the year the civil works were nearly complete and we had commenced installation of the process system. The process vessels and major items of process equipment were fabricated in Burton-on-Trent, transported to the site and installed through open sections of the roof.

The PDU is an impressive multi-feedstock facility that demonstrates the TMO process on an industrial scale. The unit provides clients with the opportunity to have their own particular biomass feedstock processed into ethanol and co-products. This enables them to make rapid and accurate assessment of what we can add to their business.

The design of the facility ensures that future process organisms can be trialed on a large scale, prior to transferring them to our clients’ own sites.

Future improvements to the plant include plans for a biobutanol process which will enable the facility to switch rapidly to the production of another biofuel.

 

The Process   Methodology