Gevo

Gevo, Inc. is a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company headquartered in unincorporated Douglas County, Colorado in the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. Gevo operates in the sustainability sector, pursuing a business model based on the Circular Economy concept. The company develops bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based products using a combination of biotechnology and classical chemistry. Gevo uses the GREET model from Argonne National Laboratory as a basis for its measure of sustainability [2] with the goal of producing high-protein animal feed, corn-oil products, energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons. Gevo is focused on converting sustainably grown raw materials, specifically no. 2 dent corn, into high-value protein and isobutanol, a primary building block for renewable hydrocarbons, including sustainable aviation fuel, renewable gasoline, and renewable diesel. Gevo markets these fuels as directly integrable on a “drop in” basis into existing fuel and chemical products.[3] Gevo's investors include Burrill & Company, Khosla Ventures, Lanxess, Osage University Partners, Total, and Virgin Green Fund, among others.

For the locomotive, see GE Evolution Series.
Gevo, Inc.
TypePublic
Nasdaq: GEVO
IndustryRenewable fuel biofuel
Founded2005
FounderDr. Peter Meinhold
Dr. Frances Arnold
HeadquartersDouglas County, Colorado, U.S.A.
Area served
worldwide
Key people
Dr. Patrick Gruber,
CEO
ProductsIsobutanol (Biobutanol) and Hydrocarbon derivatives
Revenue US$0.711 Million (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
(US$60.090 Million) (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
(US$59.203 Million) (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Total assets US$666.476 Million (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Total equity US$547.255 Million (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Number of employees
99 (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Websitehttps://gevo.com/

The Circular Economy

Gevo’s business model pursue the removal of greenhouse gas emissions from processes and incorporating instead the use of renewable energies. The concept of the circular economy is a cornerstone of the company's business model, as stated in a number of publicly available documents, e.g. Gevo’s circular economy.

Economics of Isobutanol Production

Isobutanol is a four-carbon (C
4) alcohol that can be directly used as a specialty chemical or a value-added fuel blendstock.[4] It can also be converted into butenes. Butenes are primary hydrocarbon feedstocks that are used in the production of plastics, fibers, rubber, other polymers and hydrocarbon fuels.

Isobutanol produced from renewable raw materials may be a competitive alternative source of C
4 hydrocarbons for the petrochemical and refining industries. Isobutanol and its derivatives have potential applications in the global petrochemicals market. Manufacturers may replace petroleum-derived raw materials with isobutanol-derived raw materials. Additionally, the final products produced from isobutanol-based raw materials are chemically equivalent to those produced from petroleum-based raw materials and may help reduce the time to market adoption.[5]

Creating Food and Fuel While Sequestering Carbon in the Soil

Gevo uses no. 2 dent corn in its process to create high-value, high-protein animal feed.

After the protein is removed from the corn, the leftover starch goes into the process to make isobutanol. Isobutanol is the basic building block may be used to create energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons, including sustainable aviation fuel, renewable gasoline, and renewable diesel.

Target markets

Gevo's commercialization efforts are focused on the following markets:

  • Isobutanol — Without any modification, isobutanol has applications as a specialty chemical and a fuel blendstock. In the fuel blendstock market, isobutanol can be used to replace high-value blendstocks, such as alkylate, and can be blended in conjunction with, or as a substitute for, ethanol and other widely used fuel oxygenates.[6] In November 2010, Gevo became the first company to receive EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) certification for isobutanol as a fuel blendstock after meeting the EPA's standards under the Clean Air Act.[7] While isobutanol can be used as a replacement for ethanol, its product properties are significantly differentiated from ethanol. As a gasoline blendstock, isobutanol's low Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP), high energy content and low water solubility compared to ethanol make it a valuable product that can be sold directly to refiners and is compatible with existing engine and industry infrastructure, including pipeline assets. Isobutanol can also be sold for immediate use as a specialty solvent.
  • Plastics, Fibers, Rubber and other Polymers — Isobutanol can be converted into a wide variety of hydrocarbons that form the basis for the production of many products, including rubber, lubricants, additives, methyl methacrylate, polypropylenes, polyesters, and polystyrene.
  • Hydrocarbon Fuels — Alternatively, the hydrocarbons that can be produced from isobutanol can be used to manufacture jet and diesel fuel, as well as other hydrocarbon fuels. Airline companies that use Gevo’s jet fuel: Lufthansa, United Airlines, Etihad, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Atlas Air (November 2017)[8]

Controversies

In February 2022, a methane digester of Winding Meadows Dairy near Rock Valley, Iowa owned by Gevo spilled manure which flowed across frozen fields into Lizard Creek (Iowa), a tributary of the Rock River.[9] Eventually it was found 376,414 gallons of liquid manure spilled into waterways and Gevo had no license to operate the digester.[10] The Iowa Department of Natural Resources fined the dairy farmer $10,000 for the spill,but not Gevo.[11]

References
  1. "Gevo, Inc. Full Year 2021 Form 10-K Report". investors.gevo.com. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  2. o Napolitano (September 16, 2021). "Argonne teams up with GEVO to apply lab's GREET Model to company's net-zero project | Argonne National Laboratory". www.anl.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  3. "The Post-Alcohol World". The Economist. October 28, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  4. Leber, Jessica (January 13, 2010). "Biobutanol Firm Aims to Compete with Ethanol in 4 Years". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  5. Canter, Neil (July 1, 2008). "A Second-Generation Biofuel". AllBusiness. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  6. "From 1st- to 2nd-Generation Biofuel Technologies" (PDF). International Energy Agency. November 2008. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  7. "Gevo's isobutanol receives EPA registration". Ethanol Producer Magazine. November 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  8. "Gevo Inc. - News".
  9. Welte, Dean (2022-02-08). "Authorities investigating manure spill in Lyon County, IA". KTIV. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  10. Kavahn Mansouri (2022-03-03). "Iowa manure recycler operated without state's permission when it leaked waste into creeks". Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  11. Kavahn Mansouri (2022-07-06). "Workers in Iowa failed to investigate leak that poured manure wastewater into creeks". Retrieved 2023-02-17.

Further reading
  • Official website
  • Business data for Gevo, Inc.:
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.