Cellulosic ethanol commercialization can contribute to a successful renewable fuels future. Companies such as Iogen, Broin, and Abengoa are all building refineries that can process biomass and turn it into ethanol, while companies such as Diversa, Novozymes, and Dyadic are producing enzymes which could enable a cellulosic ethanol future. Abengoa ( is a Spanish Multinational corporation, which includes companies in the domains of Energy, Telecommunications, Transportation Verenium Corporation, ( is a Cambridge, Massachusetts -based biotechnology company that specialized in Metagenomics Novozymes ( is a Biotech -based company and the world’s largest producer of industrial Enzymes and Microorganisms, with a market share of approximately Cellulosic ethanol also know by the name Ceetol, is a Biofuel produced from wood grasses or the non-edible parts of plants The shift from food crop feedstocks to waste residues and native grasses offers significant opportunities for a range of players, from farmers to biotechnology firms, and from project developers to investors. [1]
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Criticism
Critics such as Cornell University professor of ecology and agriculture David Pimentel and University of California at Berkeley engineer Tad Patzek question the liklihood of environmental, energy, or economic benefits from cellulosic ethanol technology. [1] [2] [3]
Cellulosic ethanol production
Cellulosic ethanol is a new approach which can be produced from a diverse array of feedstocks. Cellulosic ethanol also know by the name Ceetol, is a Biofuel produced from wood grasses or the non-edible parts of plants Instead of just taking the grain from wheat and grinding that down to get starch and gluten, then taking the starch, cellulosic ethanol production involves the use of the whole crop. This new approach will double yields and also have a smaller carbon footprint because the amount of energy-intensive fertilisers and fungicides will remain the same, for a higher output of usable material. [2][3] Many regions can be a producer of this fuel. Production of cellulosic ethanol is therefore viewed as a resource that can improve national energy security in countries without significant fossil fuel reserves, the environment and greenhouse gas mitigation, and rural economic development. [3]
A biorefinery built to produce 1. 4 million gallons of ethanol a year from cellulosic biomass has opened in Jennings, LA. Jennings is a small City in and the Parish seat of Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles Built by Verenium, based in Cambridge, MA, the plant makes ethanol from agricultural waste left over from processing sugarcane. Verenium Corporation, ( is a Cambridge, Massachusetts -based biotechnology company that specialized in Metagenomics Cambridge Massachusetts is a City in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. Sugarcane ( Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae tribe Andropogoneae [4]
There are also other projects. [5]
Cellulosic ethanol production and commercialization by country
Canada
In Canada, Iogen Corp. is a leading developer of cellulosic ethanol process technology. Iogen Corporation is a Canadian company based in Ottawa, Ontario that was founded by Patrick Foody. Iogen has developed a proprietary process and operates a demonstration-scale plant in Ontario. The facility has been designed and engineered to process 40 tons of wheat straw per day into ethanol using enzymes made in an adjacent enzyme manufacturing facility. In 2004, Iogen began delivering its first shipments of cellulosic ethanol into the marketplace. In the near term, the company intends to commercialize its cellulose ethanol process by licensing its technology broadly through turnkey plant construction partnerships. The company is currently evaluating sites in the United States and Canada for its first commercial-scale plant. [6]
China
Cellulosic ethanol production currently exists at "pilot" and "commercial demonstration" scale, including a plant in China engineered by SunOpta Inc. SunOpta Inc () is a public corporation located in Canada and founded in 1973 and owned and operated by China Resources Alcohol Corporation that is currently producing cellulosic ethanol from corn stover (stalks and leaves) on a continuous, 24-hour per day basis. China Resources Alcohol Corporation (CRAC is the second largest Ethanol producer in China and the owner of the only Cellulosic ethanol pilot demonstration [7]
Spain
Abengoa continues to invest heavily in the necessary technology for bringing cellulosic ethanol to market. Abengoa ( is a Spanish Multinational corporation, which includes companies in the domains of Energy, Telecommunications, Transportation Utilizing process and pre-treatment technology from SunOpta Inc. SunOpta Inc () is a public corporation located in Canada and founded in 1973 , Abengoa is building a 5 million gallon cellulosic ethanol facility in Spain and have recently entered into a strategic research and development agreement with Dyadic International, Inc. (AMEX: DIL), to create new and better enzyme mixtures which may be used to improve both the efficiencies and cost structure of producing cellulosic ethanol. [7]
United Kingdom
A $400 million investment programme to cover the construction of a world scale ethanol plant and a high technology demonstration plant to advance development work on the next generation of biofuels has been announced by BP, Associated British Foods (ABF) and DuPont. BP plc, previously known as British Petroleum, is the third largest global Energy company, a multinational oil company (" Oil major Associated British Foods plc ( is a British Multinational food ingredients and retail group with sales of £6 E I du Pont de Nemours and Company (,) is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a Gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée The bioethanol plant will be built on BP's existing chemicals site at Saltend, Hull. Due to be commissioned in late 2009, it will have an annual production capacity of some 420 million litres from wheat feedstock. [8]
United States
President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union address delivered January 31, 2006, proposed to expand the use of cellulosic ethanol. President George W Bush, in his State of the Union address delivered January 31 2006 proposed to expand the use of Cellulosic ethanol. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. In his State of the Union Address on January 23, 2007, President Bush announced a proposed mandate for 35 billion gallons of ethanol by 2017. It is widely accepted that the maximum production of ethanol from corn starch is 15 billion gallons per year, implying a mandated production of some 20 billion gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol by 2017. Bush's plan includes $2 billion dollars funding for cellulosic ethanol plants, with an additional $1. 6 billion announced by the United States Department of Agriculture on January 27, 2007. [7]
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is promoting the development of ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks as an alternative to conventional petroleum transportation fuels. The United States Department of Energy ( DOE) is a Cabinet -level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy Programs sponsored by DOE range from research to develop better cellulose hydrolysis enzymes and ethanol-fermenting organisms, to engineering studies of potential processes, to co-funding initial ethanol from cellulosic biomass demonstration and production facilities. This research is conducted by various national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), as well as by universities and private industry. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL located in Golden Colorado, as part of the U Oak Ridge National Laboratory ( ORNL) is a multiprogram science and technology National laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by Engineering and construction companies and operating companies are generally conducting the engineering work. [9]
In May 2008, Congress passed a new farm bill that will accelerate the commercialization of advanced biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 provides for grants covering up to 30% of the cost of developing and building demonstration-scale biorefineries for producing "advanced biofuels," which essentially includes all fuels that are not produced from corn kernel starch. It also allows for loan guarantees of up to $250 million for building commercial-scale biorefineries to produce advanced biofuels. [10]
| Company | Location | Feedstock | Capacity (million gallons per year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abengoa Bioenergy | Hugoton, KS | Wheat straw | 30 |
| Alico | La Belle, FL | Multiple sources | N/A |
| BlueFire Ethanol | Irvine, CA | Multiple sources | 17 |
| Gulf Coast Energy | Mossy Head, FL | Wood waste | 70 |
| Mascoma | Lansing, MI | Wood | 40 |
| POET Biorefinery | Emmetsburg, IA | Corn cobs | 25 |
| Range Fuels | Treutlen County, GA | Wood waste | 20 |
| SunOpta | Little Falls, MN | Wood chips | 10 |
| Xethanol | Auburndale, FL | Citrus peels | 8 |
Environmental issues
Cellulosic ethanol and grain-based ethanol are, in fact, the same product, but many scientists believe cellulosic ethanol production has distinct environmental advantages over grain-based ethanol production. Abengoa ( is a Spanish Multinational corporation, which includes companies in the domains of Energy, Telecommunications, Transportation For the river see Platani The ALICO Building is a 22-story office building in downtown Waco Texas, United States Range Fuels is one of six companies selected by the United States Department of Energy (DOE for financial support in building commercial Cellulosic ethanol SunOpta Inc () is a public corporation located in Canada and founded in 1973 Xethanol is one of the smaller producers of Corn ethanol in the United States and one of the few developing technology for producing Cellulose ethanol. On a life-cycle basis, ethanol produced from agricultural residues or dedicated cellulosic crops has significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and a higher sustainability rating than ethanol produced from grain. [12]
According to US Department of Energy studies conducted by the Argonne Laboratories of the University of Chicago, cellulosic ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 85% over reformulated gasoline. The United States Department of Energy ( DOE) is a Cabinet -level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy By contrast, starch ethanol (e. g. , from corn), which usually uses natural gas to provide energy for the process, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 18% to 29% over gasoline. Greenhouse gases are gaseous constituents of the atmosphere bothnatural and anthropogenic that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared [13]
See also
References
- ^ Pernick, Ron and Wilder, Clint (2007). China Resources Alcohol Corporation (CRAC is the second largest Ethanol producer in China and the owner of the only Cellulosic ethanol pilot demonstration Verenium Corporation, ( is a Cambridge, Massachusetts -based biotechnology company that specialized in Metagenomics See also Biofuel Biofuel technologies are able to manufacture Biofuels from Biomass. VeraSun Energy Corporation ( NYSE: VSE headquartered in Brookings S The Clean Tech Revolution p. The Clean Tech Revolution The Next Big Growth and Investment Opportunity, is a 2007 book by Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder, who argue that commercializing 96.
- ^ Biofuels look to the next generation
- ^ a b Cellulosic Ethanol: Not Just Any Liquid Fuel
- ^ http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20828/?nlid=1099
- ^ Countdown to Commercialization
- ^ Countdown to Commercialization
- ^ a b c Cellulosic ethanol
- ^ $400m investment in UK biofuels unveiled
- ^ Feasibility Study for Co-Locating and Integrating Ethanol Production Plants from Corn Starch and Lignocellulosic Feedstocks: A Joint Study Sponsored by U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of EnergyJanuary 2005, p. 1.
- ^ [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h2419enr.txt.pdf Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008]
- ^ Building Cellulose
- ^ Countdown to Commercialization
- ^ Cellulosic ethanol
External links
- List of U.S. Ethanol Plants
- US DoE puts up $33.8m to support cellulosic biofuel
- Texas A&M, Ceres To Develop Sorghum For Cellulosic Ethanol
- Merrill Lynch Introduces Biofuels Indices
- Biofuel Breakthroughs & the Cellulosic Fuels Revolution
- Two New Reports Highlight Ethanol Industry
- Xethanol Increases Cellulosic Ethanol Production Rates
- Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Open in Wyoming
- Gulf Ethanol Announces Cellulose Plans
- Energy Dept to invest up to $86M in 3 state biorefineries
- Cellulosic Ethanol Producers
- Cellulosic Ethanol Investments
- Cellulosic Ethanol Path is Paved With Various Technologies
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