APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:

• Evaluating pretreatment options for biomass processing
• Catalyst screening
• Integrated reaction analysis with in-line MS and capillary electrophoresis
• Operations: metering, mixing, preconcentration, reactions/incubation, heating/cooling, separations

ADVANTAGES:

• High-throughput analysis
• Cost effective
• Real-time measurement of processing reaction
• Can handle sample volumes in the nanoliter range

ABSTRACT:

For biofuel technology to advance, tailored research tools are needed to quickly and accurately evaluate the efficacy of biomass pretreatment options. This data is critical to developing cost effective, large-scale biomass processing techniques. The JBEI Microsystem for Biomass Treatment Analysis, developed by researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), can gather this data in a high-throughput system. 

Chip-based and capillary microreactor technology, which has been accepted as a proven production and discovery platform by chemical and pharmaceutical companies, is ideal for the analysis of the effects of pretreatment technologies in a discretized and highly controlled fashion. Both chip-based and capillary microreactors allow for customized reaction control conditions; provide features that promote mixing; and integrate sensing and temperature control.

Based on the advantages of microreactor technologies, JBEI researchers invented a multifunctional microfluidic system that includes integrated diagnostics and data capture to measure and compare the effects of various pretreatment approaches. In this system, both chip-based and capillary microreactors can be used to determine the kinetics and efficiency of pretreatments including dilute acid, thermohydrolysis, and ionic liquids. Following system optimization steps, both chip and capillary techniques can be applied to a wide variety of feedstocks.

The Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI, www.jbei.org) is a scientific partnership led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and including the Sandia National Laboratories, the University of California campuses of Berkeley and Davis, the Carnegie Institution for Science and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. JBEI’s primary scientific mission is to advance the development of the next generation of biofuels.

STATUS:

• Patent pending. Available for licensing or collaborative research. Collaborative research is necessary to develop this technology.

To learn more about licensing a technology from LBNL see http://www.lbl.gov/Tech-Transfer/licensing/index.html.

REFERENCE NUMBER: EIO-2590