The Competitive Edge: Catalyxx

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Catalyxx was formed with the purposes of owning the exclusive rights to a technology, originally developed by Abengoa Bioenergy, that converts ethanol into n-butanol, n-hexanol, n-octanol, and n-decanol by means of chemical catalysis.

The technology is protected by a family of seven different patents covering catalyst formulation and use and process for the production of the chemicals.

Catalyxx provides value to ethanol by its conversion into higher alcohols avoiding the typical scalation problems of the biological route.

Moreover, the cost of production is significantly lower than the petrochemical process and it reduces GHG up to 85%.

The technology has been extensively proven at lab, bench and pilot scales. It has accumulated more than 30,000 hours of testing and the process engineering package is already developed and ready for commercialization.

The catalyst has been produced at an industrial scale and is also ready for commercial deployment.

Q: Tell us about your organization. What do you do?

Our technology converts ethanol into n-butanol, n-hexanol, n-octanol, and n-decanol.

Catalyxx business model is focused on licensing the technology, providing project development services, engineering for plant integration, marketing of the chemicals and being a minority shareholder in some of the projects.

As part of our license, we will provide our licensee with the process engineering development package that is a set of documents including PFD’s, P&ID’s, list of equipment, main equipment specifications, operation manuals and other customary documents part of the basic engineering package.

Q: What stage of development are you?

Q: What do your technologies, products or services do and accomplish – how does it (they) work, who is it (they) aimed for?

Catalyxx’s patented technology makes possible the condensation of ethanol with very high selectivity to linear alcohols, eliminating side reactions typical in Guerbet’s condensation reaction.

Catalyxx customers are ethanol producers that want to diversify their product offering and chemical companies that need a renewable solution to the sourcing of these alcohols. READ MORE