In addition to the research opportunities presented by operating an Inbicon Biomass Refinery at Kalundborg, we house our Research & Development center at Skaerbaekvaerket, next to DONG Energy headquarters.  Here we operate a large-scale pilot plant and a well-equipped laboratory. It’s an environment that nurtures the new ideas that will be tomorrow’s change drivers and fosters the rapid exchange of knowledge and insight among designers and engineers.

The pilot plant, which has been operating and optimized for over five years, consists of two lines for hydrothermal pretreatment: one with a capacity of 100 kg lignocellulosic biomass per hour, and another with a capacity of 1000 kg lignocellulosic biomass per hour. We also have new continuous and energy efficient technology developed for liquefaction and hydrolysis, including a number of liquefaction reactors in sizes from 0.4 to 11 m3, and a distillation tower with stripper and rectifier. Enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation is conducted in hydrolysis reactors, which enable a process at very high dry matter content (> 30% insoluble DM). We can conduct hydrolysis and fermentation in a scale up to 5.5 tonnes of pretreated lignocellulosic material. 

We’ve used the pilot plant to optimize the Inbicon process for wheat straw and proven it on on corn stover, miscanthus, and other soft cellulosic biomass. New feedstocks and enzymes can be tested here very quickly.

We use industrial yeast that only ferments C6 sugars. For the purpose of testing C5 organisms, we offer access to our laboratory, which includes a 10 kg scale 6 chamber reactor, also suitable for work with GMO organisms. This is the smallest scale that mimics full scale production, at high dry matter content.

Our lab facilities also allow relevant HPLC analysis, as well as general chemical and microbiology work.

At Inbicon we have made a strategic decision to open our R&D facility to selected companies who are working to develop new technologies for the biomass-to-ethanol business. We also encourage inventors to come work together with us where unconventional thinking is prized.  We believe this can help accelerate the global growth of The New Ethanol industry.

Whether you’re an interested investor of a potential collaborator, we invite you to tour our facilities and see for yourself why we’re so optimistic about the future of the Inbicon Biomass Refinery.