Algenol Biofuels Inc. Announces Ground Breaking of Its Pilot-Scale Integrated Bio-Refinery in Lee County, Florida

PR Newswire

FORT MYERS, Fla., Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Algenol Biofuels Inc. announces today that it has broken ground on the construction of its pilot-scale integrated bio-refinery. This production facility will be the first large-scale deployment of Algenol's patented Direct To Ethanol® technology, which produces ethanol directly from carbon dioxide, sunlight and salt water using blue-green algae in patented photobioreactors (or PBRs). With support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Lee County, Florida and Algenol's strategic partners, the 36-acre facility will contain 3,000 of Algenol's patented photobioreactors in a commercial module, Algenol's advanced Vapor Compression Steam Stripper ethanol concentration technology and new membrane-based ethanol dehydration technology. The plant will have a target capacity of approximately 100,000 gallons of fuel-grade ethanol per year.

In addition, Algenol's joint development program with The Dow Chemical Company has come to an end, and the focus of the relationship will shift to purchasing specialty plastics and films developed during the program for use in Algenol's patented photobioreactors for the pilot-scale bio-refinery. The efforts of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Membrane Technology & Research will continue.

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