While deep thinkers continue to debate whether the chicken or the egg came first, one thing's for sure. In the biomass research business,
AdvanceBio Systems of Milford is a leader. Two big deals this summer are proof.
On Aug. 2 the company announced the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., is acquiring a Biomass Pretreatment Reactor System. Experts at the 27,000-square-foot
Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility there will use the AdvanceBio system for projects to make fuel ethanol from cellulosic biomass cost-competitive.
And on July 19 Penn State University awarded AdvanceBio a contract to supply a Bench Scale Hydrolyzer System for its Shared Fermentation Facility in University Park, Penn. The equipment will be used for research, development and demonstration of technology related to production of biomass-based fuels and chemicals from feedstocks. The company and school intended to collaborate on related research and development projects.
Earlier this year the company released The Bench Scale System, designed for university and corporate R&D personnel working on pre-treatment of biomass for next-generation fuels. AdvanceBio's other products are the lab, pilot and commercial scale systems – each escalating in the volume of material to be studied. All can be used on things such as sugar cane, corn cobs, corn stalks, switchgrass and wood chips, says Richard C. Agar, P.E., a senior associate at the company.
AdvanceBio's fuel and chemical consulting business began in 2007; the systems business began in '09, Agar says.
Source: Richard C. Agar, P.E., AdvanceBio SystemsWriter: Gabriella Jacobs