DONG Energy

	Niels Henriksen CEO Inbicon

A new technology makes it possible to produce bioethanol on straw and other residual products.

CO₂ neutral fuel within reach

Transportation of goods and people is both vital and necessary. There is no indication currently that transportation will be less important in the years to come. On the contrary, the number of motor vehicles is increasing – and so is the emission of CO2 to the atmosphere.

Reducing the global need for transportation is a difficult challenge to deal with, but a CO2 -neutral fuel is within reach.

By replacing diesel and petrol in the transport sector with cleaner alternatives such as bioethanol, we have one of the main solutions for reducing global CO2 emissions at hand. Bioethanol, made from agricultural waste, is a CO2 -neutral fuel because the amount of CO2 released during combustion corresponds to the amount captured from the plants’ growth.

A new, better technology

In its subsidiary Inbicon, DONG Energy has developed a promising technology which makes it possible to produce bioethanol based on residual agricultural products such as straw (the so-called second-generation technology or cellulosic ethanol). Bioethanol is not a new invention, but bioethanol produced on residual products is a new technology (and not yet economically feasible). It is a remarkable improvement compared to the existing first generation production of bioethanol. 

There are first generation bioethanol production facilities around the world. The production from the existing plants is based on grain, corn, sugar cane or other feedstock with high contents of sugar and/or starch. The use of raw materials also intended for food has been the issue of some criticism. Second-generation bioethanol does not involve any feedstock, which is used for food or animal feed.

The process – from straw to ethanol

	The IBUS concept click to enlarge

The production of bioethanol is highly energy demanding, and there are significant synergies in integrating bioethanol production with a power plant and operating with high dry matter content in the process.

Using waste heat from power generation to produce bioethanol might improve the energy efficiency of the entire process. This is particularly relevant in countries where waste heat is not utilised for district heating.

High dry matter content in the process is important for achieving high energy efficiency as less water has to be heated, cooled and evaporated.

In addition to bioethanol, the Inbicon process generates animal feed and a solid biofuel that power plants may use instead of coal. Unlike other types of biomass (such as straw or waste), there are no technical restrictions as to how much solid biofuel may be used to fuel a power plant. The solid biofuel is cleaned from the critical alkali salts, which normally poses problems in biomass fired energy plants. Thus, adding bioethanol production to conventional power plants has the potential to significantly improve the CO2 performance of power plants.

From idea to industry

On the road from idea to industry, second-generation bioethanol production at DONG Energy is ready to be tested in large-scale on a demonstration plant. DONG Energy’s subsidiary company Inbicon A/S is building such a large-scale demonstration site for second-generation technology next to the DONG Energy power plant in Kalundborg, Denmark. Inbicon is also optimising the technology at a pilot facility at DONG Energy head quarters in Fredericia.

The demonstration plant is expected to be ready for use before COP 15 in December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Niels Henriksen, CEO at Inbicon, has had hands-on experience with the development of bioethanol from the very beginning.

“Our second-generation bioethanol technology is a result of profound research and development. New products are constantly developed in our search for even better and more environmentally friendly energy solutions. So I’m really looking forward to testing our technology at the demonstration plant”, Niels Henriksen explains.

Facts about DONG Energy  

DONG Energy is founded on many years of experience. For more than a century, the company has supplied electricity and heat and – since the early 1980s – natural gas to customers in Denmark and neighbouring countries. Today, the company is active in every link of the energy chain – from offshore production platforms in the North Sea, over wind farms and heat and power plants to distribution of energy to the customers.

More than a million customers depend on energy supply from DONG Energy each day. The customers range from private households to large-scale industrial companies and public-sector customers. In 2007, the company delivered revenue of DKK 41.6 billion (approximately EUR 5.6 billion or USD 8.3 billion). DONG Energy has more than 5,000 employees. DONG Energy has formed the subsidiary company Inbicon A/S for commercialising the bioethanol technology.

W: www.dongenergy.com
W: www.inbicon.com