The company successfully achieved commercial scale production metrics, exhibited linear scalability of its process from laboratory scale and demonstrated the ability to run at this scale without contamination.
Solazyme now expected to move into commercial production at the plant with an annual production targeted at 20,000mt oil by 2014.
The capacity of the ADM Clinton plant will be gradually raised to 100,000mt of oil in due course.
Commenting on the developments Solazyme CTO Peter Licari remarked that the successful test completion demonstrates the company’s ability to scale up large commercial fermentation facilities.
"Solazyme is currently developing commercial facilities in the US, France and Brazil, and with these runs we have now achieved linear scale-up of over 70,000-fold from our labs," said Licari.
The bio-products maker is currently employing the ADM Clinton test facility to expand its renewable oil production platform in North America.
The scale demonstrated at the ADM facility is similar to the fermentation equipment currently under construction at the Solazyme Bunge Renewable Oils facility in Brazil, which annual production capacity of 100,000mt and is on schedule to start commercial production towards the end of 2014.
