Richland, WA - InnovaTek has received funding under the Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research Program to develop technology to produce high value biomass products. The project will develop catalytic processing technology that converts non-food biomass to valuable chemicals to help improve the economics of biofuel production.
Biomass is composed of three main bio-polymers – cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Lignin, a polymer that gives tree trunks their rigid structure, is very difficult to decompose due to its robust structure. This has limited the industrial applications of lignin except for direct combustion. The goal of InnovaTek’s project is the development of a lignin depolymerization method that creates bioproducts from the residual lignin produced during the production of biofuel. Phase I work will include catalyst and process development, reactor design, and laboratory trials to prove the feasibility of the novel technology. If feasibility is proven a Phase II proposal will be submitted to scale-up the technology to a commercial system.
“Success in this project will significantly improve the economics of converting non-food biomass to biofuel”, said Patricia Irving, InnovaTek founder and CEO. Maximizing the value of the lignin component of biomass is an ideal approach for improving the economics and commercial potential of lignocellulosic biomass conversion to liquid fuels such a green gasoline. In addition to improving energy security and mitigating climate change, the potential benefits of InnovaTek’s technology include generating job opportunities in rural food and timber production areas.
About InnovaTek, Inc.
InnovaTek, Inc. provides engineering solutions and creates products for sustainable power. The Company is a leader in fuel processing technology and advanced catalysts for hydrogen production from petroleum and renewable fuels. InnovaTek’s vision is to use innovative non-combustion catalytic technologies to move the world away from wasteful fossil fuel combustion and toward clean, efficient electrical energy generation from renewable, sustainable biofuels, providing a path for a better quality of life for future generations. The Company is developing biofuel production technology and integrated fuel cell products for electric vehicles, auxiliary power systems and distributed energy applications. Learn more about InnovaTek at www.innovatek.com.