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So here’s an overview of how cellulosic biomass—the green stuff we don’t eat‐‐ is turned into biofuel…
First, we take biomass as agricultural waste… picture wood chips, hay bales, corn stalk, etc… but not the actual corn.
This is finely chopped up and pre‐treated with acids to breakdown its components…cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.
The next step is Hydrolysis, this is the conversion of the cellulose portion to sugar called glucose‐‐‐this where enzymes are being used inefficiently and impacting the overall process.
Then the sugar is fermented into ethanol, or jet fuel or chemicals to make plastics… So why isn’t this working today? 2
Well, the GOAL is to get to low cost of sugar, or glucose coming out of hydrolysis stage. all these companies are investing to get to a lower cost of glucose. Today, all of these companies are developing industrial enzymes for this process.
but United Catalyst is working with Shell’s funding to develop our catalyst technology to be used instead of using enzymes. Our catalyst will allow for a lower cost, more scalable process to convert cellulose to glucose‐‐‐and leapfrog industrial enzymes. 3
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Our alternative to enzymes is CHIPS, Cellulose hydrolyzing imprinted polymers. This is a silica‐based particle, like sand, that is stamped or imprinted with a cellulose molecule, At high temperatures, cellulose gets caught in its own imprint and thermal energy causes molecular bonds to break and glucose is released as the result. Like a strand of pearls, when these cellulose bonds break, you just have the glucose monomers.
So for comparison: Time: CHIPs are recyclable and have a predictable life span of up 180 days. Temperature: Chips work effectively up to 150Cwhich will avoid a lot of cooling and will produce a consistently Aseptic glucose output pH: Chips are very stable, and can withstand a wide range of pH conditions, so no need for neutralization. CHIPs can be dry shipped from anywhere around the globe… And with only a two month recycle process, we show a 15 fold savings in cost per gallon of ethanol….
These are the reasons for Shell’s interest in funding our technology. 5
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One good example of this type of Waste to Revenue opportunity is at Wood Pulping Mills
Here, Cellulosic waste –short fibers that fall out of the wood pulping process are found in the wastewater– this is just cellulose that is already broken down ‐‐‐a much shorter putt technologically speaking than what Shell is working on.
in the US, there are about 6 million tons per year of cellulosic waste separated out of pulp mill wastewater that is land‐filled for about $60 per tonne. But we want to turn the waste into glucose, and glucose sells for $440/tonne…
This is readily available market, a short putt for oue technology, there are many buyers of glucose, and this is a way to reduce landfills. 10
Our management team consists of Dr. Stephen Roth, the founding principal of the company and inventor of CHIPS. He is a serial entrepreneur who has launched biotech companies in the past based upon his enzyme related inventions. He took Neose public in 1996 and went on to run Corridor Pharmaceuticals. Knowing the limitations of enzymes, he invented CHIPs and started United Catalyst in 2011.
Myself, as the CEO I have a deep technology licensing and product development background from my 14 years with General Electric in the Plastics, Lighting, and energy space. I also have 5 years of prior experience in commercial construction development and management. Dayeone Lee is the Professor at UPENN who reduced Steves invention to practice, and provides synthesis chemistry support to our team. Len Keck is a technical advisor leading our scale‐up‐commercial plan. He has over 40 years of industrial plant design and development as a project manager working in biofuels, recycling and plastics businesses, a real asset to our team. 11
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