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Thursday, November 16, 2006

Making Ethanol from Wood Chips

Continued from page 1

By Kevin Bullis

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Mascoma is focusing on improving the first steps of the process--pretreating raw materials and converting cellulose into sugars--which South says are key to reducing costs. In the conventional pretreatment step, materials such as wood chips are soaked in a dilute solution of sulfuric acid and then heated. This breaks down complex lignin structures that form a "shield" around the cellulose, says Charles Wyman, Mascoma co-founder and professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, in Riverside. Wyman's research has analyzed the mechanisms involved in this process, helping the company optimize this step. Mascoma has also developed technology for improving the next step: breaking down the now accessible cellulose into sugars by using enzymes produced by organisms. In the latter part of the process, these sugars are fermented to make ethanol.

Wyman estimates that the company's technology could produce ethanol for about the same cost as producing ethanol from corn, and eventually for less money. This would be a significant improvement over other technology. A cost analysis at an NREL pilot plant, for example, suggests that it would cost more than two dollars a gallon to make cellulosic ethanol--about double the cost of making corn ethanol. But even NREL researchers are confident that this cost will be cut in half and meet corn-ethanol costs within six years, Douglas says.

Producing enough ethanol to replace a significant fraction of gasoline consumption is still many years away, however. It will require further improving both the technology and the industrial processes, including the challenges that go with handling large amounts of bulky biomass. "We are definitely not there yet," says MIT's Stephanopoulos. "Processes today are clearly uneconomical."

But Douglas says researchers are optimistic that continued funding and the application of new tools will make widespread cellulosic ethanol possible: "The pathways are pretty clear."

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Comments

  • I wonder if anyone has looked at using pulp mill waste as a raw material
    dickcaro on 11/16/2006 at 8:59 AM
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    Pulp mills all over the world use the Kraft process to generate paper-grade pulp. Chemically, paper-grade pulp is cellulose free from Lignin, wood's polymeric binder. Lignin can be chemically converted to Vanillin, or artificial vanilla flavoring, but very little is so converted. Most Lignin is burned as fuel in recovery boilers, a seemingly wasteful process. Millions of tons of lignin are burned each year. Perhaps, the spent cooking liquor from the Kraft process can be converted to simpler chemical compounds such as ethanol by chemical means. It may be easier than working with cellulose, a very tough molecule.
    Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: pulp mill waste
      jpdemers on 11/17/2006 at 1:42 AM
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      Lignin is highly aromatic (lots of C=C bonds), and you'd have to add hydrogen to get much ethanol out of it.
      Burning it, on the other hand, is not wasteful. Pulpwood forests are a renewable resource, so the CO2 that's generated is recycled back into more wood.  Beats burning oil or gas in the same boiler.
      Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: I wonder if anyone has looked at using pulp mill waste as a raw material
      Lambchop_ChemE on 12/31/2006 at 12:08 AM
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      If anyone has, please contact me. You too, dickcaro.

      Please include the words *  Chemical engineering - ethanol   * in the subject header.

      Thanks.
      Lambchop
      Rate this comment: 12345
  • celluosic ethanol
    protn7 on 11/22/2006 at 9:57 AM
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    Vulvox nanobiotechnology corporation has a program to manufacture ethanol form switchgrass.
    If you are interested in a partnership contact Neil Farbstein, President of Vulvox Nano/biotechnology at  protn7@att.net
    Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: celluosic ethanol
      jdrodrigu on 01/09/2007 at 4:45 PM
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      Please provide me more information.
      Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: celluosic ethanol
      rockypatel123 on 07/23/2007 at 3:39 PM
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      What type of partnership you are looking for?

      Rocky
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    • Re: celluosic ethanol
      N O M on 04/17/2008 at 11:51 PM
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      This claim of Neil Farbstein's is a lie. He claims several scientific breakthroughs he has not achieved. He is trying to defraud investors in his dodgy company.
      Rate this comment: 12345
      • Re: celluosic ethanol
        fivedoughnut on 04/20/2008 at 8:00 PM
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        I'd just like to add:

        Neil Farbstein is emphatically and most unequivocally not a rancid distended crap-sack of duplicitous swindling double dealing defaecation. Furthermore, he's assuredly not a colossal foul jissom bucket of pumped-up delusional human excrement posing as a profoundly psychotic muttonhead.

        [URL]http://www.physforum.com/index.php?showtopic=21242&st=105[/URL]
        Rate this comment: 12345
  • ethanol
    porosity on 12/27/2006 at 12:56 AM
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    This discussion should always lead to the hemp plant. Cellulose and bio diesel from the same plant. The jerusaelem (sic) artichoke is also rarely mentioned and it is almost criminal from a omissions' stand point. Engineers have to ,no must stop siding with the oil corporations and grow some testes and demand a solution to pollution .             Thanks . Clint Price
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • The Best Cellulosic Ethanol Companies
    m_albertson on 02/03/2007 at 3:47 PM
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    Does anyone have any advice/insight on good cellulosic ethanol investment opportunities?  It is clear to me (especially after Bush's State of the Union Speech) that cellulosic ethanol is going to be a cornerstone of our energy policy.

    So far, the best site I've found is <a href="http://www.investincellulosicethanol.com"> www.InvestInCellulosicEthanol.com </a>.
    Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: The Best Cellulosic Ethanol Companies
      jeanwilliam on 01/13/2008 at 11:52 PM
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      Cellulosic Ethanol Companies are found here too <a href="http://www.Cellulosic-Ethanol-Companies.com"> www.Cellulosic-Ethanol-Companies.com </a> or <a href="http://www.CellulosicEthanolInvestments.com"> www.CellulosicEthanolInvestments.com</a>
      Rate this comment: 12345
  • sugar beets
    Daddeo01905 on 04/07/2007 at 5:54 PM
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    Sugar beets can also be used to make ethanol. Sugar beets grow better in colder climates like New England. See link at: http://www.distill.com/World-Fuel-Ethanol-A&O-2004.html
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • cellulosic ethanol vs. bio-oil
    cdlewis on 10/29/2007 at 8:47 AM
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    Check out this link, biomassmagazine.com, june 2007 issue, Thermochemical vs. Biochemical, maybe enzyme technology isn't the way to go.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Ethanol from SAP
    Brian Maki on 12/17/2007 at 4:13 PM
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    I have been trying to find information on Sap from deciduious trees such as Birch as a source to produce ethanol. A single mature tree can apparently produce up to 20 litres, 4-5 gallons per day without damaging it. The sap is about 1/2 the sugar content of sugar Maple and I believe the wine made from it has a good kick so it must be a good source of alcohol. We have millions of trees in North America that could be managed and tapped every spring for hundreds of millions of gallons of sap and if the sap is as good as I hope a very high volume of Ethanol could be produced. All the people I contacted with regards to this have not returned a good argument against it other than it can only be harvested for about 30 days in the spring. If there is any information on the production of Ethanol from Sap I would love to get it, Thanks, Brian Maki. brianmaki@hotmail.com
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Jatropha Seeds and Plant
    jeanwilliam on 05/06/2008 at 1:49 AM
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    Here's a new one.  I heard that Jatropha Seeds contain 37% of oil that can be used as biofuels or mixed into ethanol?  Anyone know where I can find a good Jatropha Seed Suppliers site?<br>  I type in <strong>www.JatrophaSeedSuppliers.com</strong> and found an interesting site but wondering if anyone has heard of this or even <strong>www.MiscanthusSeedSuppliers.com</strong>?  Again, It is clear to me (especially after Bush's State of the Union Speech) that cellulosic ethanol is going to be a cornerstone of our energy policy.
    Rate this comment: 12345
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