Pursuit Dynamics signs up first bioethanol plant

Pursuit Dynamics has signed an agreement with Pacific Ethanol, Inc., a U.S.-based producer of low carbon ethanol, to install a full scale production version of its PDX Ethanol Reactor Tower (‘ERT’) at Pacific Ethanol’s facility in northeast Oregon.

The PDX bioethanol system achieved a 14 percent increase in bioethanol yield when compared to existing methods of production at a U.S.-based pilot plant in December 2007, while reducing overall fermentation time by over 20 percent, according to the company.

The system has also been specifically developed to be retrofittable to existing bioethanol production facilities.

The agreement with Pacific Ethanol has been structured so that both parties work together during a 90-day trial period, followed by a 180-day optimization period, to confirm the mix of benefits previously demonstrated by the PDX technology.

Based on results to date, the company states the PDX ERT system has the potential to have a multi-million dollar positive impact annually on a plant of this size.

Pursuit Dynamics expects to ship the PDX bioethanol system this month and fit it at Pacific Ethanol’s Boardman, Ore., plant with the trial period commencing by June.

The Boardman plant has been operating since August and has the capacity to produce 40 million gallons of bioethanol annually.

“The signing of this agreement represents the first stage of the commercialization process of the PDX bioethanol system and is the culmination of more than two years work," says John Heathcote, CEO of Pursuit Dynamics.

For more information, visit www.pursuitdynamics.com.