Rapid and Accurate Biomass Analysis

1. Companies Forum Venice 2014 Rapid and Accurate Biomass Analysis Dr. Daniel Hayes www.celignis.com

2. Celignis Analytical • Launched July 2014. • Spinout from University of Limerick, Ireland. • Based on advances in biomass analysis made in PhD and FP7 project (DIBANET). • Provision of characterisation services for biomass (lignocellulosic and thermal properties). • Initial focus on determining properties relevant to production of 2nd Gen. biofuels. • Uses standard methods (chemical and thermal) and unique models for rapid analysis. “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

3. 2nd Gen Biofuels “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

4. Important Chemical Properties • Hydrolysis process (e.g. enzymatic hydrolysis). • C6 Sugars: Glucose, Galactose, Mannose • C5 Sugars: Arabinose, Xylose • Lignin content (acid soluble and insoluble) • Extractives • Ash. • Thermal (e.g. combustion) and thermochemical (e.g. pyrolysis and gasification). • Elemental analysis (C, H, N, O, S) • Heating value • Ash • Anions and cations. “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

5. Time for Conventional Analysis Wet Chopped Sample Sample as Collected Dry Sample Air Drying ~ 3+ days Chop sample ~ 10 mins Milling + sieving ~ 1 hour Extractives-free sample Hydrolysis and hydrolysate analysis ~ 3 days Extractives Removal ~ 3 days Completed Lignocellulosic Analysis ~ 10 days !!!! Dry Sample of Appropriate Particle Size “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

6. Constituents Determined

7. Chemical Analysis Methods • Advantages: • Established for decades. • Most accurate method. • Accurate for all sample types. • Disadvantages: • Destructive. • Needs careful sample preparation. • Array of equipment required. • Requires high level of analytical competence. • Slow (requires ~2 weeks). • Costly. • Hence, number of samples that can be analysed is limited (time/cost). “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

8. Celignis NIR Method for Lignocellulose Analysis • Has been demonstrated on >1000 samples. • Takes ~2 minutes for prepared samples. • Allows reduced cost, increased throughput (effective sample screening technique). • Allows for provision of data in one day. “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

9. Background to NIR Analysis Specular Reflectance Diffuse Reflectance Absorption Transmittance Refraction Scattering “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

10. “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

11. History of NIR Analysis • In development since 70’s for the analysis of forage crops and grains. • Now the primary method of analysis for these sectors. • To date application of NIR for lignocellulose analysis limited to research papers. • Celignis is the only company to offer NIR analysis as a commercial service for the lignocellulosic constituents of a wide variety of biomass samples “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

12. 13 Constituents Predicted

13. Types of Samples Included “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

14. Development of NIR Models • Models are built on a set of samples (calibration set) and then tested on an independent set of samples (validation set). • Important statistics: • R2 for the validation set. • RMSEP. • RER (range error ratio) = Range/SEP. • RER > 15 model is good for quantification. • RER 10-15, screening control. • RER 5-10, rough sample screening. “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

15. Results for Prediction Set “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

16. Regression Plot – Total Sugars “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

17. Regression Plot – Klason Lignin “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

18. Results for Prediction Set “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

19. Results for Prediction Set “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

20. Feedstock-Specific Models “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

21. Remove Risk from NIR Analysis… • NIR analysis carried out without payment. • Figures for Deviation in Prediction for the Total Sugars and KL contents provided for free. • Can then decide whether to pay for NIR data, wet-chemical analysis, or nothing! • All operations carried out online with interactive database… “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

22. “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

23. Celignis NIR Method • Advantages: • Results provided in one day (versus ~2 weeks). • Significantly lower price than chemical analysis. • Allows for a large number of samples to be screened for their suitability in a cost-effective manner. • Proven on ~1000 biomass samples covering a wide variety of feedstock types. • Disadvantages: • Less accurate then chemical analysis - however models provide an estimate of the deviation (error) in prediction and this may be low enough for many users. “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

24. Future Plans • Further improve models with more samples. • Develop a local calibration algorithm do develop unique models for each sample to be predicted (only select relevant samples for calibration set). • Develop models for thermochemical properties (C/H/N/S, heating value, volatile matter, fixed carbon etc.) using existing sample database (1,700 samples) and new samples. • Open to collaboration in future Horizon 2020/JTI research projects for models for new feedstocks or analytes. “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

25. Conclusion • Celignis offers standard chemical analysis methods for lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks and these provide data with high accuracy and precision. • Celignis also offers a rapid low-cost NIR method for predicting lignocellulosic constituents. • More technical data on the NIR method to be presented at Session B2 (Theatre Hall), Mon 17th Nov at 14:30. • Much more information available on Celignis website: www.celignis.com “One-day analysis of biomass” www.celignis.com

26. Thank You! www.celignis.com dan@celignis.com (353) 89 455 5582