Assessment of Conversion Technologies for Bioalcohol Fuel ...

Range Fuels, Inc., Denver, Colorado
Organizational Background–Range Fuels, Inc. is a privately held company funded
by Khosla Ventures, LLC. The company was formerly known as Kergy, Inc., and
before that BioConversion Technology, LLC (BCT). The company, which employs 25
people, operates a pilot facility in Denver, CO, testing its gasification-based process
for producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass, which the predecessor companies have
been developing for a number of years.
Technology Characteristics–The Range Fuels technology relies on gasification in
the absence of oxygen. The system, which the company calls K2, uses a two step
process to convert biomass to a synthetic gas and from there convert the gas to
ethanol. It can accept a variety of biomass feedstocks, such as wood chips,
agricultural wastes, grasses, and cornstalks as well as hog manure, municipal
garbage, sawdust and paper pulp into ethanol. The K2 system is also modular;
depending on the quantity and availability of feedstock, the K2 system can scale from
entry level systems to large configurations. This allows for location near the biomass
source and selection of the most economical plant size for each application.
Development Status–Range Fuels has tested its gasifier at the 25 ton per day scale
in the company’s pilot plant. Technical results of this development progress to date
are not disclosed.
Future Plans–Range Fuels intends to design, build, own and operate facilities
applying its proprietary technology, and has plans to fully commercialize this
technology. The company is presently pursuing a commercial demonstration project
incorporating its technology in Soperton (Truetlen County) Georgia. Partners in this
project include Merrick and Co., PRAJ Industries, Georgia Forestry Commission,
Western Research Institute, Yeomans Wood and Timber, Truetlen County
Development Authority, BioConversion Technology and CH2M Hill, and Gillis Ag and
Timber. USDOE, in February 2007, awarded a grant of up to $76 million to Range
Fuels to co-fund this project.
Range Fuels’ Georgia project is scheduled to break ground in 2007. This plant is
intended to ultimately produce 40 million gallons of ethanol plus 9 million gallons of
methanol per year. The primary feedstock for this plant will be wood waste from
Georgia’s milions of acres of indigenous Georgia Pine. The project is intended to
begin operation at a scale of 10 million gallons per year and add additional modules to
reach the above full capacity. About 1,200 tons per day of wood chips and forest
waste feedstock are expected to be processed at full operating capacity.
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