The Catalyst Review - October 2015 - 13

SPECIal fEaTuRE
process as the microbial catalyst is capable of a very efficient water gas shift reaction to produce the necessary hydrogen from the
water using energy supplied by the carbon monoxide in the gas stream. LanzaTech's process primarily produces ethanol, but the
process and microorganism can also be tailored to maximize production of other chemicals such as acetic acid and 2,3-butanediol
(2,3-BDO). The latter can be catalytically converted to butadiene and the company has partnered with nylon producer Invista, major
Korean energy and chemical company SK Innovation to develop this process.
However, despite the strong interest in bio-butadiene, virtually all of LanzaTech's commercial success to date has been for ethanol
production. LanzaTech's technology has been used at two different steel mills in China to produce 380,000 liters/year of ethanol.
The company is also working with steel producer ArcelorMittal and technology company Primetals to install a 47 ktpa waste gas to
ethanol facility at ArcelorMittal's steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, which is expected to be operational by mid-2017. For bio-chemical
production beyond ethanol, LanzaTech operates its Freedom Pines biorefinery in the U.S. as a pilot-scale project with a biomass
feedstock capacity of 20 kg/hr and which is capable of producing different chemicals using syngas gasified from pine biomass and
corn stover.

Conclusion

Advancement in bio-aromatics and bio-olefins continues despite the harsh economic reality of low oil prices and even cheaper shale
gas-although in some ways the latter is also a boon. The increase in use of ethane as feedstock rather than naphtha for ethylene
production is creating a gap between propylene production and demand; a gap that bio-propylene production can help to fill as
shortages potentially increase global propylene prices. The theme of improved production capacity is strong across both types of biochemicals. Improved availability of bio-methanol will provide a wealth of new possibilities as feedstock for bio-propylene and other
bio-chemical production, while increased commercial-scale production of bio-based aromatics will help to develop the market of
what is a very keen desire for bio-based plastics.
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The Catalyst Review

October 2015

http://ir.gevo.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=238618&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1935464 http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141208006011/en/Direct-Biological-Production-Propylene-%E2%80%93-Star-GLOBAL http://www.iea-etsap.org/web/Supply.asp http://www.ptq.pemex.com/productosyservicios/eventosdescargas/Documents/Foro%20PEMEX%20Petroqu%C3%ADmica/2014/Steve%20Global%20Olefin%20September%202014.pdf

The Catalyst Review - October 2015

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