In the coming months Colorado Energy News will be profiling several companies, from startups to established players, who are pushing the envelope when it comes to energy solutions in our state. This week we get up close with ZeaChem, Inc.

Market Segment: Renewable Energy/Biofuels
Process/Products: Biorefinery-Based Ethanol

By David A. Hill

ZeaChem must be the type of startup Governor Ritter has
in mind when he regularly champions Colorado as a leader in renewable energy development. Headquartered in Lakewood, the company is the brainchild of co-founders, Dan Verser and Tim Eggeman, who have applied their collective experience in the processing industries at Coors and Koch to develop a novel approach to ethanol production.

Time will tell whether their efforts pan out as a successful commercial operation, but benchmark testing at the company’s pilot plant in Northern California shows promise.

True, the biofuels market is filled with obstacles. The processing equipment is expensive, particularly when production moves from pilot plant scenarios to commercial scale; and it is still a nascent industry compared to other energy sectors. Financial staying power is essential for long-term viability. If funding doesn’t become a problem, ZeaChem may turn out to be another success story worthy of Governor Ritter’s new energy stump speech.

The Hybrid Process

ZeaChem is enhancing the biorefining of cellulosic ethanol using a hybrid combination of biochemical and thermochemical processing steps. The raw materials, or biomass feedstocks, used in the process contain high levels of cellulose, which is the rigid structural compound found in all plants. It’s an ideal choice for biorefining because it grows abundantly throughout the world and replenishes quickly and easily in poor quality soil. Another significant benefit of using cellulosic biomass is that it effectively ends the “food vs. fuel” debate that has drawn so much negative publicity to corn-based ethanol plants.

The ZeaChem process results in a high yield of ethanol per ton of feedstock because the process efficiently utilizes all fractions of it. According to the company, the effectiveness of this process results in a fuel that, when substituted for traditional corn-based ethanol or gasoline, will produce substantial and verifiable carbon emission reductions.

“The patented process we utilize offers the highest yield at the lowest costs, with the lowest fossil carbon footprint of any known biorefining method,” ZeaChem’s Director of Public Affairs, Carrie Atiyeh, tells Colorado Energy News. “Our sustainable process for third generation ethanol proves that ethanol and chemical production doesn’t have to come from food or oil but rather any common plant species.”

Feedstock Focus

Earlier this year ZeaChem contracted with Greenwood Resources of Oregon to supply hybrid poplar trees for their feedstock. Harvesting at the tree farm along the Columbia River is performed just once every three years. The hybrid poplar trees are a great choice for biomass feedstock because of their unique ability to regenerate themselves, which helps to significantly reduce the harvesting and pillaging of the acreage. Full replanting of the trees takes place only once every fifteen years.

These trees are what ZeaChem terms an “energy crop” characterized by very low carbon intensity and the ability to be sustainably harvested.  Other wood products can be used in the process as well - even dead lodgepole pines that have fallen victim to the beetle kill here in Colorado.

Beyond Ethanol

Company officials says that its commercial viability is enhanced with flexibility available on both the front and back ends of the process; different feedstocks can be used, and a variety of bio-based petroleum chemicals are possible as end-products. This means the company would not necessarily be at the mercy of the ups and downs of the ethanol market.

“We see interest from the auto industry, not just on the alternative fuel side, but also with the bio-based chemicals side - really, anything that is petroleum based, such as plastic, is a potential market for us,” says Atiyeh.

ZeaChem believes the current slump in crude oil prices is a temporary blip and is moving ahead with plans to build their first production facility in the next 12 to 18 months. They’re looking at several locations, including Colorado. The changing national energy policy under the new Obama administration is likely to enhance the positions of advanced biofuel developers such as ZeaChem. Most observers believe some type of carbon restriction will eventually be imposed here in the U.S, which will add even more weight to the low carbon option.

The global market for ethanol is facing several big challenges and plenty of opportunities over the next ten years. A few issues hold the key to these growth opportunities. If the promises of competitive, large-scale cellulosic ethanol are realized and if national trade policies for biofuels are further liberalized, then the possibility for ethanol to replace 20 percent of gasoline consumption in the U.S., China and India may actually be realized by 2020. ZeaChem hopes to be right in the mix.

CONTACT INFO:
ZeaChem, Inc.
Union Tower
165 South Union Boulevard
Suite 380
Lakewood, CO 80228

Ph: 303-279-7045
Email: businessdevelopment@zeachem.com
Click Here for directions to ZeaChem