Construction Progresses on Terrabon's New Semi-Works Biofuels Conversion Facility in Bryan, Texas

The new facility, which broke ground in May of this year, will confirm the scaled-up, commercial feasibility of the Company's MixAlco(TM) technology, which converts readily-available, low-cost, non-food biomass into industrial chemicals and transportation fuels. These include organic salts, organic acids (e.g. acetic acid), ketones (e.g. acetone), esters, ethers, aldehydes, and secondary alcohols that can be further processed into renewable gasoline. Terrabon holds the only world-wide licensing rights from Texas A&M University to this unique acid fermentation technology,

When completed, the new semi-works facility will have the loading capacity of 400 dry tons of biomass, equal to a loading rate of five dry tons per day. The Company will use sorghum as the primary feedstock with the objective of producing organic salts and converting them to ketones. The MixAlco technology has been successfully tested for the past three years at Terrabon's pilot plant inCollege Station. The pilot plant can process up to 200 dry pounds per day of biomass from such feedstocks as waste paper and chicken manure.

This technology has been developed over the past 15 years by Dr. Mark Holtzapple, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M. Terrabon has funded development of the technology and its intellectual property since 1995. Currently, this includes 12 U.S. patents and more than 14 U.S. patent applications as well as numerous others in international markets.

The research that developed the MixAlco technology also led to two additional products. SoluPro(TM) converts inexpensive protein-bearing waste material into animal feed and "green" commercial adhesives. AdVE(TM) utilizes advanced vapor-compression evaporation to substantially reduce the capital and operating costs of purification for brackish and salty water. Terrabon plans to license and joint venture all three technologies with other companies and municipalities.

"We are pleased with the speed and efficiency with which this facility has been developed and look forward to bringing it on line by year-end," said Gary W. Luce, Terrabon's Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Luce noted that the Company plans to continue the aggressive scale-up of this technology and to support its sub-licensees focused on asset development such as Byogy Renewables. Byogy recently announced the licensing of an integrated biofuels process from The Texas A&M University System that is supported, in part, by Terrabon's licensed intellectual property portfolio.

Terrabon, L.L.C. was organized in 1995 to commercialize three technologies that share the same suite of patented intellectual property developed at Texas A&M University. Terrabon plans to deliver this cutting-edge technology via licensing for three products. MixAlco(TM) is an advanced bio-refining process that converts low cost, readily available "non-food" biomass into a "biocrude," which can be easily and efficiently converted into valuable chemicals and fuels, such as ethanol and gasoline. SoluPro(TM) is a bioproducts process that converts inexpensive protein-bearing waste material into animal feed and "green" commercial adhesives. AdVE(TM) is a water desalination process that utilizes advanced vapor-compression evaporation to substantially reduce the capital and operating costs of water purification.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future financial and operating results, the predictability of commodities markets and raw material markets. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Terrabon's management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, competitive market pressures, changes in foreign currency and exchange rates, international trade risks, changes in policy by foreign governments, and changes in environmental and other governmental regulation. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Terrabon, L.L.C.

Copyright © 2009, PRNewswire
Copyright © 2009, NewsBlaze, Daily News

Tags: ,OIL,AGR,ENV,RCY,TX-Terrabon-LLC-bio