Advantaged Chemical Conversion Pilot Plant

• Bench- and pilot-scale biomass chemical impregnation and dewatering systems (screw presses)
• 1-L high-solids stirred batch reactor
• 4-L steam-injected batch reactor
• 130-L steam-jacketed and steam-injected batch paddle-type mixed reactor limited to temperatures below 160°C
• Continuous horizontal screw-type reactor, 100–200-kg/day (dry basis) capacity (140°C–210°C and 5–30-minute residence times)
• Continuous horizontal screw-type reactor, capacity of 0.5–1 tonnes of biomass per day (dry basis) (140°C–210°C and 3–120-minute residence times)
• Continuous vertical reactor, capacity of 0.7–1 tonnes of biomass per day (dry basis) (140°C–200°C and 1–60-minute residence times)
• Continuous vertical reactor, capacity of 0.5–1 tonne biomass per day (dry basis) capacity (140°C–210°C and 10–40-minute residence times), with an inline secondary reactor for optional treatment at lower temperatures
• All reactor systems have multiple options for pretreatment catalysts

• High-solids bench-scale tumbling reactors (up to 10 L)
• 1,900-L hot-water jacketed paddle reactor for high-solids slurries
• Four 4,000-L hot-water jacketed paddle reactors for semi-continuous processing at total solids loadings greater than 20% (w/w)

• Multiple standalone fermentation systems from 15-L to 100-L scale
• Pilot plant fermentation train consisting of two 160-L seed production vessels, two 1,500-L seed production vessels, and four main 9,000-L fermentation vessels
• All vessels can be operated in batch, fed-batch, or continuous mode of operation
• Continuous high-temperature, short-residence-time sterilizer

• Solid-liquid separation systems, including solid-bowl and perforated-bowl centrifuges
• Semi-continuous pressure belt filter
• Forced-recirculation evaporator
• 19-sieve tray distillation column

Research in the biochemical conversion pilot plant taps into NLR's suite of special-purpose laboratories, including:

• Compositional analysis
• Process engineering and economic analysis
• Molecular biology
• Microscopy analysis
• Rheology and particle size characterization
• High-throughput processing and analysis
• Computational modeling.