Greenwood Clean Technologies

Lynntech, Inc. is a College Station, TX based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into Lynntech, Inc.'s business and areas of expertise. The amount of energy stored and the efficiency of nickel-metal hydride batteries, such as those used with intermittent renewable energy sources is limited by the use of a liquid electrolyte. This project will develop a solid hydroxide electrolyte suitable for use in high powered batteries. This project will develop a catalyst to cost-effectively transform renewable sources of energy, such as fats and oils to biodiesel. This technology will reduce the United States' dependence on foreign oil and result in a net decrease in carbon dioxide emissions. This project will address the processing of heavy crude and increase limited, large scale refineries. This project will enable the cost effective refining of heavy crude in the Nation's small refineries as well, which are critical to meeting the Nation's liquid fuel supply. This project will develop a new method for harvesting algae containing bio-oils for biofuel production. This process will enable cost-effective production of advanced biofuels such as biodiesel, green diesel, green gasoline, and green jet fuel reducing our nation's dependence on foreign oil. Magnet harvesting of algae offers the prospect of a significant reduction in the cost of harvesting high oil content algae for biofuel use. Combined with algae's high fuel per acre yield, this can increase the availability of cost effective biofuels. This project will identify infrastructure problems and system requirements to design and fabricate an affordable, safe and energy efficient home hydrogen fueling appliance. It is targeted to meet hydrogen refueling needs of the average US traveler on a daily basis and has potential application as backup power source in emergencies. This project will develop technology that will produce aviation fuels from algae-derived biodiesel, which has significant energy density to be used an alternative transportation fuel source. This project aims to develop an innovative biomass preprocessing system to improve overall bioenergy production efficiency by utilizing an environmentally-friendly approach. The broadbased capabilities of this technology will enable it to perform multiple tasks in a single unit of operation. Renewable fuels from biological feedstocks such as ethanol and biodiesel have been recognized as attractive renewable energy sources; however, the inherently high production costs of these fuels have hampered their widespread application. This project will produce highly efficient catalysts for refining of biological feedstocks offers high efficiency and low-cost production. This project will develop a novel diesel fuel reformer which will provide high quality fuel gas to a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) system with high efficiency and low system complexity. The system will enable SOFC Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) in the 1 - 5 kW range to become economically viable.

Bodega Algae, LLC, (Bodega) is a developer of scalable algae photobioreactors. The closed continuous-flow reactors produce high-energy algal biomass for use in the production of biofuel. nnThe Bodega photobioreactor is modular and stackable, allowing it to be co-located efficiently on the premises of industrial plants. The reactor uses nutrients readily drawn from a variety of waste streams. Sources for nutrients include wastewater from domestic sewage, municipal water treatment plants or carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) flue gases from industrial plants. The microalgae in the bioreactor converts these compounds to biomass, creating the feedstock for biofuel while improving the environment. nnMicroalgae has advantages when compared to conventional oil crop feedstocks. Algae produces over twenty times the amount of biofuel than soybeans on an equal amount of land due to rapid growth rates and high concentrations of lipids per cell density. In contrast to soybeans and other oil crops, the modest agricultural and resource requirements of microalgae make it an attractive low-cost alternative feedstock. Estimates indicate that algae grown in large volumes could reduce the cost of manufacturing a gallon of biodiesel by half of current rates. Lower costs and greater energy yield will make biofuels economically competitive with petro-fuels. n

Windsave Ltd., established in 2002, is a dynamic Scottish company within the Renewable Energy sector. The company are focused on developing micro generation solutions for domestic and commercial properties. The Windsave System is a small wind turbine generator system, which uses low wind speeds to create electricity. nnThe Windsave System uses the company's technology, which generates electricity supplementary to the national grid supply, reducing reliance on traditional energy sources; benefiting the environment, and helping to lower domestic electricity bills and CO2 emissions. nnMany people have the desire to protect the environment; the company's challenge from the beginning has been to turn that desire into action. The company's aim is to enable householders, commercial enterprises and local authorities to move from being mere consumers of energy to becoming important contributors to overall energy requirements. nnThe company's technology has been fully and independently tested by the National Engineering Laboratory and is fully accredited by the DTI under the Low Carbon Building Programme (formerly known as The Clear Skies Programme). It is BS and CE approved.

Copernican Energy is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: High Temperature Solar Thermal Biomass Gasification and Co-reduction of Iron Oxide to Produce Hydrogen. Their project applies renewable solar thermal energy as a novel way to provide the necessary energy for biomass gasification and will develop the science required to engineer an efficient solar biomass-to-hydrogen conversion facility. Central to this innovation is the use of a reduced oxide intermediate to chemically store solar energy in a solid, allowing continuous hydrogen generation when the sun is not shining. The operating conditions necessary to achieve economically viable conversion of biomass resources to hydrogen will be determined through in-depth study "on-sun" and in the laboratory of heat transfer, reaction rates, and rate controls. The proposed project provides a bridge between solar energy and biomass to surmount many of the challenges associated with conventional biomass processing technologies. The high temperatures available from solar thermal systems allow for high conversion and selectivity, maximizing utility of the valuable biomass resource and extending its ability to replace conventional fossil fuels. Use of a reduced metal oxide stretches the applicability of solar energy beyond the daylight hours. Combined use of solar energy with biomass has a larger potential than either renewable resource alone to provide renewable fuels for the future. Copernican Energy is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Rapid Solar Thermal Gasification and Pyrolysis of Cellulose and Lignin for Renewable Fuel Production. Their research uses solar thermal energy as a novel way to provide the necessary energy for renewable biomass conversion to energy or useful products, and develops the science required to engineer an efficient and commercial solar biomass conversion facility. Gasification and pyrolysis of representative biomass resources grown near solar regions (corn stover and sorghum) will be converted via thermogravimetry, controlled aerosol reaction, and on-sun demonstration of feasibility of this approach. Thermogravimetric experiments will determine chemical kinetics and necessary conditions for high selectivity to syngas and tar mitigation. Economic simulations will determine the main cost drivers for product price and highlight the syngas products with highest near-term scale-up potential. The broader impacts of the application of solar thermal energy to thermochemical conversion of biomass will provide a bridge between these sources of renewable energy that could surmount many of the challenges associated with conventional biomass processing technologies. Combined use of solar energy with biomass has a larger potential than either renewable resource alone and will help alleviate the nation's dependence on foreign petroleum, generate economic growth, create fuels that are environmentally sustainable, and have an impact on the overall human impact of energy use.

Bioprocessing Innovative Company is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Engineering Clostritrial Fermentation for Biobutanol Production. Their project will develop novel engineered Clostridia strains for fermentation to economically produce butanol as a biofuel from sugars derived from starchy and lignocellulosic biomass. Butanol is an important industrial solvent and potentially a better transportation fuel than ethanol. Recent rising oil prices and limited petroleum resources have generated high interest in the production of biobutanol by anaerobic Clostridial fermentation. However, the conventional acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation has low butanol yield (<20%), butanol concentration (<16 g/L) and reactor productivity (<0.5 g/L*h) due to a strong butanol inhibition, and the fermentation process is difficult to improve due to the complicated metabolic pathways and gene regulation involved in the production microorganisms, mainly Clostridium acetobutylicum. To develop a novel high-butanol producer, Clostridia mutant strains with inactivated ack (acetate kinase) and pta (phosphotransacetylase) will be cloned with an alcohol dehydrogenase gene in Phase I and the mutants will be further adapted in a fibrous bed bioreactor to attain a high butanol tolerance. Functional genomic studies of the mutants and further metabolic engineering and process development will be carried out in Phase II to evaluate the feasibility and advantages of producing butanol from glucose and xylose. The new fermentation process can double the butanol yield and concentration, thus reducing the product cost to an economically competitive level for fuel application. Broader Impact: Currently, butanol is almost exclusively produced via petrochemical routes. Its uses include industrial applications in solvent, rubber monomers and brake fluids. Butanol has also been shown to be a good alternative transportation fuel. Biobutanol will have a great potential to compete with ethanol as a transportation fuel when its production cost is reduced by using advanced fermentation technologies such as metabolically engineered butanol-tolerant mutants. By increasing the butanol yield from glucose and xylose from the current low of <20 % (w/w) to ~40%, the economics of biobutanol can be greatly improved. With the engineered mutants, the productivity and butanol product concentration can also be improved by at least 100%. Overall, the biobutanol product cost can be reduced to less than $2 per gallon. This technology thus can provide an economical and better biofuel than ethanol. This project will focus on generation of value-added products from industrial waste streams and low-cost biomass feedstocks to enhance the economic viability of the biorefinery industry. Successfully developing the proposed butanol fermentation technology will satisfy the public interest, especially in providing a safe, renewable energy, protecting natural resources and the environment, and enhancing economic opportunity and quality of life. There will be job creation throughout the commercial development and manufacturing phases. At least one postdoctoral scholar and one Ph.D. student will be trained in this project. Bioprocessing Innovative Company is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: A Gas-Solid Spouted Bed Bioreactor for Solid State Fermentation to Produce Enzymes and Biochemicals from Plant Biomass. Their research project will develop a gas-solid spouted bed bioreactor (SBB) for solid state fermentations (SSF) to produce hydrolytic enzymes (e.g., amylases, phytase, chitinase) and biochemicals (e.g., lactic acid) from solid starch materials. SSF offers higher production rates and easier product recovery compared to submerged fermentation (SmF), along with the ability to use many agricultural commodities and byproducts, such as rice, corn and wheat bran, as substrates. By virtue of its use of plant biomass as a substrate, SSF can become a sustainable system of chemical production from natural resources, thereby providing economic benefit to US agriculture and increasing national competitiveness. The proposed gas-solid spouted bed bioreactor can overcome problems suffered by conventional SSF systems. Using SBB for enzyme production potentially can reduce enzyme costs by more than 75% and thus increase their applications. Commercially, this new solid state fermentation (SFF) process can be used for economical production of industrially important enzymes from solid plant biomass. Hydrolyases such as amylases, cellulases, phytase, and chitinase have wide applications in industry. These enzymes can be more economically produced from plant biomss in SSF using the spouted bed bioreactor. Amylases and many other hydrolase enzymes are used in bioprocessing, including corn wet-milling, which currently generates more than $24.4 billion market value. Reducing the costs of these hydrolyase enzymes is critical to the emerging biorefinery and bio-based industrial products. The gas-solid spouted bed bioreactor (SBB) also can be used in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation processes for biochemicals production from plant biomass containing starch or cellulose. Successfully developing the proposed SBB and SSF technologies will provide sustainable chemical production, protect natural resources and the environment, and enhance economic opportunity and quality of life. The project also will train high quality personnel in the much needed bioprocessing technology areas, and provide an infrastructure for timely commercialization of university research results. There will be job creation throughout the commercial development and manufacturing phases. Bioprocessing Innovative Company is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Production and Separation of Galacto-Oligosaccharides from Lactose for Prebiotic Food Applications. Their project will develop a novel immobilized enzyme process to produce galactooligosaccharides (GOS) from whey lactose for probiotic food applications. The proposed GOS production process involves two immobilized enzyme reactors and product separation by nanofiltration and adsorption chromatography. Two different alpha-galactosidase enzymes with different GOS formation characteristics will be used to optimize GOS production and yield from lactose. The product stream from the second reactor will be sent to a nanofiltration (NF) separation unit, where GOS, lactose, galactose, and glucose could be separated to yield a product with a higher GOS composition. The process for adsorption with activated carbon and ion exchange liquid chromatography will be developed to further purify GOS. The commercial application of this project will be in the emerging probiotic and neutraceutical food market for use by both animals and humans. This market is estimated to be in excess of 2 billion dollars per year. The present use of GOS in foods is limited by the high production costs. These costs are attributed mainly to the high enzyme cost and low oligosaccharide yields (less than 30% w/w). The proposed technology is expected to reduce production costs by at least 50% due by improving reactor productivity and enzyme life. Further, the ability to use cheap whey precursor products (current price range : $ 0.12 - $ 0.40 per lb) to value added GOS product (curent price : $ 4 - $ 5 per lb) will be of great benefit to the diary industry.

FirmGreen is an integrated energy company participating in virtually all aspects of the global green energy business. FirmGreen is involved with identifying, developing and commercializing new and emerging technologies, and alternative fuels that promise to play an increasingly important role in the world's energy mix. FirmGreen's patented technology includes methods of converting solid, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons from readily available renewable resources including landfill gas, forest residues, and biomass into renewable electricity and clean biofuels to power vehicles and fuel cells.