Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The goal of the phase II SBIR project was to advance development of a process to co-produce barley protein concentrate, BPC,and ethanol to the point of commercialization. BPC is a high value 60% protein concentrate with initial target market as a protein ingredient in aquaculture feeds. Montana Microbial Products met this goal, completing all the tasks in the work plan in meeting the five principal technical objectives of the project: 1. Optimize final process design. MMP conducted the laboratory work to optimize conditions for enzymatic fractionation of barley. MMP designed constructed and operated a pilot facility that confirmed scale up of the process design and generated the data necessary for designing a commercial facility. 2. Establish market value of BPC in trout feeds, through trout feeding studies. MMP working with USDA scientists and aquaculture companies conducted feeding studies in trout as well as salmon and red drum. 3. Identify specific markets; determine scale of first commercial facility. MMP worked with the three compnaies that supply feeds to the US farmed trout industry to evaluate fish meal use and quantities that might be replaced with BPC. We scale of potential USA and international markets for plant protein ingredients in salmon feeds. 4. Determine capital and operating cost for the first commercial facility. Complete "schedule A" engineering package. MMP contracted with an engineering firm that completed the engineering. MMP also worked with a company that supplies modular facilities on a modified design that reduces cost and construction time. 5. Prepare comprehensive business plan for potential equity investors and documentation to support applications for USDA loan guarantees or similar programs. MMP completed a comprehensive business plan which has been submitted to several potential investors. PARTICIPANTS: Kearns Principal investigator: Responsible for pilot plant design and operation, commercial plant engineering, joint work economic assessment, in business plan and presentations to investors. Bradley Project director: Responsible for process optimization, coordination of feeding trials, joint work on economic analysis, business plan and investor presentations. Project collaborator: Dr. Rick Barrows, USDA ARS Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station. Managed trout feeding trials coordinated feeding trials in salmon and other fish species. Provided expertise to commercial trial cooperators in designing feed formulations incorporating BPC. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences included aquaculture feed companies and potential investors in financing a commercial BPC,ethanol facility. Principal target audience is the three companies that manufacture essentially all of the finished pelleted feeds for the US farmed trout industry. MMP and cooperating USDA scientist provided BPC samples and technical support for trials. Results of trials provided the data for companies to evaluate replacing fishmeal with BPC in feeds. Based on this work two of the three companies issued conditional purchase orders for BPC. MMP and cooperating USDA scientist also worked with other ARS labs, NOAA, the Norwegian Aquaculture Protein Center, a Japanese aquaculture feed company, and a Norwegian aquaculture company in trials to evaluate BPC as a fishmeal replacement in feeds for farmed salmon and other marine species. Initial results have been positive, with continuing evaluations and potential commercial collaborations. MMP presented project results at several industry and investor conferences. The business plan has been presented to potential joint venture partners and to multiple venture capital companies. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: There was on principal change in the project. This was in site selection for a commercial facility. The original work plan proposed project site centered in Buhl Idaho, near the center of US trout production and with the potential for co location with a food process plant. During year 1 we made three trips to the Buhl area to evaluate sites and utilities, especially availability of process water. We held meetings with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, private consultants, the city of Buhl, Seneca Foods and local economic development offices and we visited at least eight specific potential sites in South Central Idaho. It was clear from this work that MMP would be unable to secure an industrial water right to supply process water for a commercial plant. Despite the strong interest and cooperation of the local managers of the local food process plant in Buhl, we were unable to obtain any interest from the corporate offices in working with MMP to utilize waste water from their Buhl plant. Food process waste water would have supplied the summer water supply and the City of Buhl made conditional commitments to supply municipal water during their low demand season in the winter when Seneca was not operating. There were some concerns about metals in the city water system but without food process waste water, the original site near Buhl was unworkable. The more general issue is that water shortages in the Magic Valley in Idaho have made it very difficult and very expensive to obtain an industrial water right. Further any new industrial water right would be subordinate to older rights and subject to limitations. Basically to obtain an industrial water right we would need to purchase agricultural land now using an equivalent amount of water for irrigation and take that land out of production. This is a significant expense that would add significantly to the capital cost for even for the relatively small facility we will construct. There may also be seasonality issues depending on the source of the water right. MMP selected two potential sites in connection with potential joint ventures, one in Southwest Idaho and one in North central Montana. Both alternatives would place the facility in an economically depressed agricultural area where the direct employment and purchase of locally grown barley would bring economic development.
Impacts
Pilot scale BPC production established that capital and operating costs of BPC ethanol production are profitable at current and projected market conditions for aquaculture protein ingredients and ethanol prices. Trout and salmon feeding trials established that BPC can replace fishmeal as a principal protein ingredient in feeds. Trout growth rates were equivalent with 100% replacement of fishmeal with BPC and superior with 1/3 and 2/3 replacements. In salmon feeding trials BPC digestibility was equal to or in greater than fish meal and superior to other plant proteins. Based on results of the phase II project MMP will commercialize BPC/ethanol by constructing and operating a production plant. The initial plant size will be annual production of 5,300 tons of BPC with 1.8 million gallons ethanol as co product. This will supply the US trout industry and support market introduction in Pacific Northwest salmon. Economic sensitivity analysis show that the combination of high value protein and ethanol is profitable with wide ranges of barley cost and BPC and ethanol prices. At recent and current BPC value as fishmeal replacement revenue from BPC will exceed revenue from ethanol. Producing two high value products makes this economically resilient compared with conventional grain based ethanol production or with other processed plant proteins for aquaculture feeds. At the conclusion of the project MMP was in negotiations with two companies regarding a potential joint venture to finance and operate this facility and in discussion of terms with a venture capital firm as an alternative source of financing. This plant will support a rural economy by directly employ 18 people with an average wage and benefits of over $50,000/year and by purchasing barley from local farmers. The plant will use 800,000 bushels of barley per year creating a new market and predictable price for feed barley.
Publications
- Barrows,F; Bradley,C.; Kearns,R; 2009 U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 12/424,145 Filed:04/15/2009 PROTEIN CONCENTRATE FROM STARCH CONTAINING GRAINS: COMPOSITION, METHOD OF MAKING, AND USES THEREOF
- Barrows,F; Bradley,C.; Kearns,R 2009 PCT Application No. PCT/US2009/040687 Protein Concentrate from Starch Containing Grains: Composition, Method of Making, and Uses Thereof
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Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The goal of this project is to advance commercialize of a process developed to co-produce barley protein concentrate and ethanol. BPC is a high value, 60% protein concentrate with initial target market as a protein ingredient in aquaculture feeds. MMP will commercialize BPC/ethanol by construction and operation of a production plant. The project work plan was designed to meet five principal technical objectives: 1) Optimize final process design 2) Establish market value of BPC in trout feeds, through trout feeding studies 3) Identify specific markets; determine scale of first commercial facility 4) Determine capital and operating cost for the first commercial facility. Complete "schedule A" engineering package 5) Prepare comprehensive business plan for potential equity investors and documentation to support applications for USDA loan guarantees or similar programs. In the first year of the project MMP conducted the laboratory and pilot plant research to generate the data to design a commercial plant. MMP also conducted commercialization work including site evaluations, economic and market evaluations and prepared financial models and a business plan. MMP made significant progress in meeting each of the project objectives. Positive results from trout feeding trials and strong interest from trout feed manufacturers led MMP to accelerate commercialization efforts. In year 1 MMP: Optimized process design at laboratory and pilot scale Completed and operated BPC pilot facility Provided BPC for trout and salmon feeding trials conducted by our USDA/ARS collaborator. Trials demonstrated commercial value of BPC as a replacement for fishmeal in trout growth studies and potential for use in salmon feeds Secured commitments from the three US trout feed manufacturers' to conduct commercial scale tests of BPC in feed formulations Completed the schedule A engineering package Prepared comprehensive financial model and business plan for a 5,300 ton BPC/1.6 million gallon ethanol per year commercial plant to supply US trout markets Began work to raise equity and debt capital to finance the facility Filed US and International patent application Submitted data package for regulatory approval as feed ingredient PARTICIPANTS: Robert Kearns, Project Director Principally responsible for pilot plant design, construction and operation,engineering evaluations. Cooperates in commercialization efforts. Clifford Bradley Principally responsible for laboratory process optimization, commercialization tasks. Brian Wasicek, Technician Responsible for assisting with laboratory and pilot operations, analytical work. Collaborator Dr. Rick Barrows, USDA ARS Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station Coordinating trout and salmon feeding trials. TARGET AUDIENCES: Principal target audiences have been: 1. Three companies that manufacture finished, pelleted feeds to the Idaho trout industry. MMP has met with thes companies multiple times to review results and to arrange for large scale tests. These are the first customers for the Barley Protein Concentrate. 2. Potential investors. MMP has held discussions and presented business plans to potential equity investors and to local state and federal economic development agencies that might assist in debt financing. 3. Alternative energy and economic development conferences. MMP has presented the project concepts and results to four different conferences in Montana. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Site selection work resulted in the only significant departure. In year 1 we made three trips to the Buhl area to evaluate sites and utilities, especially availability of process water. We held meetings with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, private consultants, the city of Buhl, Seneca Foods and local economic development offices and we visited eight specific potential sites in South Central Idaho. It was clear from this work that MMP would be unable to secure an industrial water right to supply process water for a commercial plant. Seneca Foods will not supply waste water, despite the strong interest and cooperation of the local managers. Water shortages in the Magic Valley in Idaho make it very difficult and prohibitively expensive to obtain an industrial water right. MMP is in the process of evaluating two alternatives for a plant site. Both alternatives would place the facility in an economically depressed agricultural area where the direct employment and purchase of locally grown barley would bring economic development. The first is to acquire and modify an existing small scale ethanol plant in South West Idaho. The plant has sufficient capacity and all utilities are available at the site. The second is potential sites in North Central Montana. Feed barley from dry land production is available in more than enough quantity. Creating a new market for dry land barley would bring agronomic benefits to growers, providing a rotation crop for the dry land winter wheat. MMP held meetings with local officials and identified four potentially suitable sites.
Impacts
Principal outcomes includes new knowledge of process design and economics generated from work completed in each of five tasks in the work plan. 1. Lab/ bench optimization Year one outcomes included: process data from evaluation of different barley varieties; optimization of enzyme source and dose and fermentation conditions; and process improvement from use of additional enzyme activities into the process. 2. Pilot Plant Initial work modified an existing pilot facility to produce 12 kg dry weight BPC and fermentation of 750 liters per batch. MMP operated at this scale for process optimization, operational tests and to produce material for salmonid feeding trials. MMP completed an upgrade of capacity and equipment to produce 25 kg dry weight BPC per batch and 1,500 liter fermentation for expanded feeding trials. During the first year MMP produced 250 kg of BPC with consistent results in protein concentrations averaging 56.3 percent with a range of 54.6 to 59.1 percent. MMP used pilot data to generate mass balance, process flow, and specifications for process equipment and to estimate operating costs in financial models. 3. Trout feeding trials Trout feeding trials established value of BPC as a protein ingredient in trout feeds. In protein digestibility trials in trout BPC equaled standard Menhaden fish meal. BPC also has higher phosphorous digestibility than fish meal which will reduce one of the principal pollutants from farmed trout and salmon. In a 12 week growth study in trout feeds formulated with BPC at 33 and 66 percent replacement of fishmeal gave statistically superior growth and feeds with 100 percent replacement of fish meal showed statistically equivalent trout growth. A study compared digestibility of plant derived proteins including BPC in salmon feed. BPC digestibility at 96.25% was statistically equal to or greater than all of the other protein ingredients tested. 4. Engineering MMP working with contracted engineering firms completed a schedule A engineering package and 30 percent plus or minus cost estimate for a commercial plant including, process flow diagrams and piping and instrumentation diagrams, specifications for all the major pieces of equipment, control scheme and building requirements. Equipment vendors were contacted to obtain budget pricing. This first facility, designed to produce 5,300 tons of BPC and 1.6 million gallons of ethanol will cost an estimated 10 million dollars to purchase the equipment, build, and start the plant. 5. Commercialization MMP developed detailed financial spreadsheets, completed a business plan and is actively seeking equity capital for a BPC/ethanol plant sized to supply the US trout market and develop markets in Pacific coast salmon. MMP is evaluating two alternatives for a plant site, both in economically depressed agricultural areas where the direct employment and purchase of locally grown barley would bring economic development. MMP and USDA /ARS jointly prepared and filed US and international patent applications. MMP prepared and filed a petition for a new feed ingredient definition with the association of American Feed Control Officials, AAFCO.
Publications
- Barrows,F.T.; Bradley,C.A.; Kearns,R.D.; Wasicek,B.D. Protein Concentrate from Starch Containing Grains, Composition, Methods for Making and Uses Therof. US patent application 12424145. April 15, 2009
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