In 2023, the company negotiated a license agreement for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) deacetylation and mechanical refining (DMR) process, a technology seen as important for sidestepping challenges with cellulosic biofuel facilities in the past. DMR uses a “gentle” alkaline bath and a mechanical shredder to prepare corn stover for ethanol fermentation—essential steps for accessing the energy-dense sugars locked inside.
May 16, 2024
minute read time
The Arkalon Ethanol facility near Liberal, Kansas—operated by Conestoga Energy—will host a SAFFiRE Renewables’ pilot plant to produce cellulosic ethanol. Photo courtesy of Conestoga Energy
On its path to open a facility designed to turn agriculture residue into a scalable biofuel business, SAFFiRE Renewables plans to break ground on its pilot plant near Liberal, Kansas, in late 2024.
In 2023, the company negotiated a license agreement for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) deacetylation and mechanical refining (DMR) process, a technology seen as important for sidestepping challenges with cellulosic biofuel facilities in the past. DMR uses a “gentle” alkaline bath and a mechanical shredder to prepare corn stover for ethanol fermentation—essential steps for accessing the energy-dense sugars locked inside.
Ultimately, ethanol made at the plant, which will be operated by Conestoga Energy, can be upgraded into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology. Estimates suggest the resulting SAF will have a carbon footprint at least 83% lower than conventional jet fuel.
Read more about NREL’s patent-pending DMR technology and how the pilot plant—supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office and Southwest Airlines—could take cellulosic ethanol to where it struggled to go in the past.