Pilot Plant Design, Construction and Optimization for the Synthesis and Isolation of Furfural

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DMT Bioproducts was created from the Alymer, Ontario based company Creative Enterprises, who specializesin the design, engineering, and fabrication of equipment for the construction industry. In 2014, CreativeEnterprises created the start-up company DMT Bioproducts to develop and commercialize an innovativehigh-efficiency bio-refining process to produce furfural from biomass Miscanthus grass.Furfural is typically produced from corn residues and is widely considered the most abundantly available furan,yet current operating plants still suffer from low-yielding processes. Miscanthus Giganteus grass crop,however, is a rapidly growing plant that can provide up to 7 times the biomass as corn per acre. In addition,Miscanthus can grow in poor soil and in short seasons where other food crops cannot grow. In collaborationwith Lambton College's Bio-industrial Process Research Centre (BPRC), this project will focus on developinga bio-refining process for furfural production from Miscanthus grass. Once the process is optimized forMiscanthus, plans are to explore other crops like switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum), a native grass commonalong roadsides.The success if this project will provide significant advancement to bio-processing technology. If the yield canbe increased from the current industrial standard of 10%, this will make furfural production in Canadacompetitive and may prove necessary to establish not only a sustainable bio-refinery, but a thriving one.