Large Scale Production ofMicroalgae for Biofuels
Dr Bryan WillsonDr.
Chief Technology Officer

International Symposium on
Algal Fuel Research
Tsukuba, Japan
July 2727, 20092009 Solix Biofuels. All Right Reserved.

3 Main Points• Solix is a leading developer of closed
photobioreactor-based production systems foralgae based biofuels
algae-based• Solix’s cost trajectory shows that fuel production
ffromalgae
lcan bbe cost-competitivet
titi withith
petroleum – but requires full value extraction
ffromtheth production
d ti co-products
d t• Solix has now begun operation of the world’s
largest closed photobioreactor for biofuelproduction.
22009 Solix Biofuels. All Right Reserved.

Outline
Solix / Algae IntroProduction
Pd i iin OOpen PPondsd
Production in Closed PBRs
Solix AGS System
Harvesting & Extraction
Scaleup: Coyote Gulch
Production Costs
Solix Business ModelConclusions

About Solix• Focused on the development
and commercialization of large-scalealgae-to-biofuels systems• Launched in March, 2006
• Privately funded• 65+ employees• Headquartered inFort Collins,, Colorado,, USA• 1st scaleup site on the Southern Ute Indian reservation insouthwest Colorado• Significant
Si ifistrategici partners iin advanced
dd bi
biology,lmidstreamid
processing, fuel processing, and scaleup engineering

Photosynthetis / Algae

BIOMASS:
Carbs
Protein
Lipids7

Processing

6

Land & Water Efficiency• Soybean:
S b• Rapeseed:• Mustard:• Jatropha:• Palm oil:• Algae est.:

40 tto 50 gal/acrel/110-145 gal/acre
140 gal/acre
175 gal/acre
650 gal/acre
5,000-10,000 gal/acre
7,000 “nominal”

Gallonns/Acre /Year

Annual Production
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,0003,000,2,000
1,000
0Soy

CanolaCorn(ETOH)

PalmAlgae

7Solix Value Chain Positioning

Solix
AdvancedBiology

GrowthHarvest

Extract

Process“Refining”

Distribution& RetailThese“up”
andTh“ ” streamtd“down” stream partnerships
have been identified andestablishedOutline
Solix / Algae Intro

Production in Open Ponds
Production in Closed PBRs
Solix AGS System
Harvesting & Extraction
Scaleup: Coyote Gulch
Production Costs
Solix Business Model
Conclusions

Open Pond Cultivation:
Dunaliella - Eilat, Israel

10Open Pond Production: Earthrise
Spirulina - California

11Open Pond Production:
Seambiotic - Ashkelon, Israel

12

Open Pond Attributes
Advantages
Adt g• Lowest capital cost
• Only technology demonstrated
at large scale – to date
• Can maintain specificpculturesof extremophiles
Disadvantages• AllowsAll
contaminationt i ti off
specific culture
with local species / strains• Potential for loss / migration of GMO• Susceptible
pto weather• Water loss from evaporation / percolation

13

Outline
Solix / Algae Intro
Production in Open Ponds

Production in Closed PBRs
Solix AGS System
Harvesting & Extraction
Scaleup: Coyote Gulch
Production Costs
Solix Business ModelConclusions

Direct Light PBRs:

GGreenFuels,
F l 1st GenG15

Direct Light PBRs:

AlAlgaeLink
Li k / BiBiokingki

16Direct Light PBRs.
Solix 1st Generation17

Effficienc
cy, ≈P/EEd

Photosynthetic Efficiency~15%-20%of full sun

Irradiance,, Ed(arbitrary units)18

Impact of Light Intensity
10%
40%
70%100%Note:
Nt 10X increaseiin
i light,
li ht butb t
only 3.5X increase in output.
Implies a 3X reduction inphotosynthetic efficiency.
Conversely, if diffuse light canConversely
be used over extended surface
area, 3X increase in output
possible.

19

Extended Area PBRs

Glass Plate Photobioreactor

Glass Tube Photobioreactor(Pulz, Richmond, others)(Pulz, IGV, Ketura, Torzillo, others)
20

IGV Diffuse PBR≈5 m2 illuminated areafor 1 m2 of g
ground area

Utilizes diffuse light, short photic
distances (approaches ideal cycle
time of 20 ms) for high photosynthetic
efficiency
21

Pumped Tubewall PBR: IGV

22

Pumped Tubewall PBR: AlgaTech

High-Growth Phase

Stress Phase23

Closed PBR Attributes
Advantages
Adt g• Allow growth of specific cultures• Allows environmental control• Potential for much higher growth
rates (with(extended surface area and/or high turbulence)
Disadvantages• Potential
P t ti l ffor hihighh capital
it l costt• Potential for high energy costs• Low-cost
Low cost production has not been demonstrated

24

Outline
Solix / Algae Intro
Production in Open Ponds
Production in Closed PBRs

Solix AGS System
Harvesting & Extraction
Scaleup: Coyote Gulch
Production Costs
Solix Business ModelConclusions

Cost vsvs. Productivity

Direct Light PBR:
Low Cost & Productivity

Diffuse PBR:High Cost & Productivity 26

1st Generation PBRPBR. July ‘06
06

27

2nd Generation PBR – May ‘07
07

28

3rd Generation PBR –Nov ‘07
07

Solix G3 Technology:• Extended surface area
• Water supported• Integrated CO2 / air sparging• G4 under development
29

Solix G3 (cont)30

Solix G3 (cont)31

Solix G3 (cont)32

Winter Operation: ‘07
07 & ‘08
08

33

Continuing AGS Improvements

Solix G4a Technology:• Membrane CO2 delivery• Membrane
M bO2 removal,l iinternaltl• Reduced thickness / higher density34

Potential Open-Water Application

35

Offshore Production?
Denmark Workshop, Apr 20-22

36

Outline
Solix / Algae Intro
Production in Open Ponds
Production in Closed PBRs
Solix AGS System

Harvesting & Extraction
Scaleup: Coyote Gulch
Production Costs
Solix Business Model
Conclusions

Biology

38

Harvesting & Extraction

39Extraction40Extraction

41

Fuel Properties - General42

Fuel Properties - General• Algal oil is unique in that it tends
to contain a significant quantity(~5-20% by volume) of long highly
unsaturated oils, which are rarely observed inmore traditional biodiesel feedstocks, such as soyand rapeseed (canola) oil.
• The two most common types of long and highly
unsaturated oils found in algae oil tested to dateare eicosapentaeonic acid (EPA) anddocosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
43

Feedstock Composition
Fatty acid content varies widely depending on the feedstock. The chemicali i hash implications
i li iin
i terms off combustionb i characteristics.
hi icomposition
Saturated Acids

Mono
UnsaturatedAcids

10:0 12:0 14:0 16:0 18:0 >18:0

CoconutCPalm
RapeseedS bSoybean
Nannochlorop
sis Oculata
NNannochlorophl
sis sp.

747

methyl dodecanoate (coconut)

15
3
316:1

18:1 22:1

n:2

22840
2915

23
142

182

116

646
1226
10314

11

3

19

6

methyl linoleate (soy)Total Poly
Unsaturated
Acids55
1

n:3 n:4-6

1555
6864317

320

eicosapentaeonic acid methyl ester (algae)

Automation & Controls• Automatesconditions for
optimalpp
productivity
yof different
organisms
gindifferent climates• Gives predictive
and diagnosticcapabilities

45

Outline
Solix / Algae Intro
Production in Open Ponds
Production in Closed PBRs
Solix AGS System
HHarvestingti & E
Extractiont ti

Scaleup: Coyote Gulch
Production Costs
Solix Business ModelConclusions

Scaling Up.
Up . .

47

48

400 feet2009 Solix Biofuels. All Right Reserved.

2009 Solix Biofuels. All Right Reserved.

Coyote Gulch Amine Plant

53

Basin A

2009 Solix Biofuels. All Right Reserved.

Basin A

2009 Solix Biofuels. All Right Reserved.

Coyote Gulch

Coyote Gulch Layout
Basin C

Bulk CO2
SupplyBasin B

Offices &:LabBasin D

Produced WaterHandlingBasin A
Waste CO2 & Nat.
G Supplies
GasSliPhoto taken 07.19.2009

Operations
B ildi
Building
57
2009 Solix Biofuels. All Right Reserved.

58

59

60

61

62

Basin A

2009 Solix Biofuels. All Right Reserved.

Basin A

2009 Solix Biofuels. All Right Reserved.

Outline
Solix / Algae Intro
Production in Open Ponds
Production in Closed PBRs
Solix AGS System
H
Harvestingti & E
Extractiont ti
Scaleup: Coyote Gulch

Production Costs
Solix Business Model
Conclusions

Economic Overview
Biomass
GrowthYi ld
Yield% Oil

Economics ((PerUnit Area)

OperatingExpenseCost
Solix“Economics”

CapitalExpense

Land

Scale

CapitalEngineering

66

System Analysis / Modeling67

R&D Roadmap$250/Gal$2/GalPath to Fuel Cost Parity
The path to fuel cost parity will require both incremental
andd stept function
fti improvementsit$2/Gallon
FuelTechnology Roadmap70Outline
Solix / Algae Intro
Production in Open Ponds
Production in Closed PBRs
Solix AGS System
HHarvestingti & E
Extractiont ti
Scaleup: Coyote Gulch
Production Costs

Solix Business Model
Conclusions

Business Model• Solix contributes:• production/processingtechnology• project
j t developmentdlt andd
operational expertise• Partner contributes::• CO2, land and capital• Value from:• Fuel, co-products and CO2

Industry Partner
Solix• Solix is teaming with international

ppartnersin order to develop
p largeg
scale production
Confidential

Path to Commercialization

ApolloGemini 1

Mercury
1&2
Mariners

2006

Mercury 3 & 4

L bLab2008

2010

Outline
Solix / Algae Intro
Production in Open Ponds
Production in Closed PBRs
Solix AGS System
H
Harvestingti & E
Extractiont ti
Scaleup: Coyote Gulch
Production Costs
Solix Business ModelConclusions
Cl i

Conclusions• Economical biofuel production appears
feasible, using low-cost high productivity
photobioreactors• Requires
qtightg couplingp g of biology
gy andengineering• Value of co-products
co products must be captured;
may approach or exceed value of oil• Systems modeling/integration required
to achieve cost targets
75

Contact Information
Dr. Bryan Willson
DrChief Technology Officer, Solix Biofuels
B
Bryan.Willson@solixbiofuels.com
Will@ li bi f l+1 (970) 491-4783
Professor of Mechanical Engineeringgg
Colorado State University