Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Converting Switchgrass to Ethanol

posted by Geetha @ 1:17 AM 0 Comments

Status of Cellulose to Ethanol

This site provides opportunities,market issues, Financial issues of Ethanol. Read here
posted by Geetha @ 12:52 AM 0 Comments

Converting Plant Sugar to Cellulosic Ethanol

The sugar in cellulosic biomass is locked up in the form of cellulose and hemicellulose. Cellulose contains glucose, the same type of sugar - six-carbon (C6) sugar - that is found in cornstarch and that can be fermented to ethanol using conventional yeasts. However, hemicellulose contains mainly non-glucose sugars-five-carbon (C5) sugars. Conventional yeasts cannot ferment most non-glucose sugars to ethanol with commercially acceptable yields. Read
posted by Geetha @ 12:40 AM 0 Comments

Current State of Cellulosic Ethanol Production

Only a small part of most plants is sugar or starch, the part that can be digested by humans and fermented by yeast into ethanol. Most of the rest is cellulose. Naturally, using the bulk of the plant is more efficient. Better yet, we need not use our food plants. Some grasses store more energy in cellulose than does corn, and require far less nitrogen fertilizer, far fewer pesticides, and less process heat (energy).
The main drawback now is expense. Of course cellulose ethanol could be overdone like anything else, but much more could be produced with much less ecological damage. And with some plausible advances, it could be cheaper than gasoline. Read the current production cost

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posted by Geetha @ 12:37 AM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol - the Current Situation

Cellulosicethanol –the current situation
•The process
•The costs
•Enzyme improvements
•What is needed next
Read Here

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posted by Geetha @ 12:27 AM 0 Comments

To Make Alcohol From Sawdust

There are two typesof alcohol you can obtain from wood -- methanol and ethanol. Methanolcan be obtained from wood by high temperature destructivedistillation. Methanol is also known as wood alcohol. The othermethod used to obtain ethanol involves converting the sawdust tosimple sugars, the usual fermenting by yeast, and the usualdistillation of the fermented solution. There are a couple of othersteps involved prior to distillation that are distinct from thestandard processes almost everyone is familiar with. Read
posted by Geetha @ 12:24 AM 0 Comments

Distillation of ethanol

Ethanol Distillation is the chemical process of creating ethanol fuel from various components including corn or cornmeal, sugar (sucrose), water and yeast. Corn Ethanol - Most commonly whole grain corn is used and converted from cornstarch into sugar by sprouting the corn, fermenting a mixture of cornmeal which in the end is transformed into carbonic acid and alcohol which is commonly referred to as a 'wash'. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 12:19 AM 0 Comments

Monday, December 29, 2008

Ethanol and Bio-diesel: Fuels or Threats to Food Security?

The United Sates produced 3.9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2006 and expanded its output to 6.5 billion in 2007. This took millions of hectares of land out of food production. In 2007, 54 percent of the world's corn was grown in the USA, and 38 percent of US corn crop ended up in gas tanks instead of stomachs. The amount of corn required to produce a gallon ethanol is enough to feed a human being for two weeks. Corn is mainly used to feed chickens and cattle, so the price of poultry, eggs, beef, and dairy products will continue to rise. Read
posted by Geetha @ 11:19 PM 0 Comments

Costs Of Fuel Ethanol Plants World

Other countries are either producing and using ethanol in large quantities or are providing incentives to expand ethanol production and use. Brazil and Sweden are using large quantities of ethanol as a fuel. Some Canadian provinces promote ethanol use as a fuel by offering subsidies of up to 45 cents per gallon of ethanol. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 11:13 PM 0 Comments

Real Cost Of Corn Ethanol

Corn is the most widely produced feed grain in the United States, accounting for more than 90 percent of total feed grain production. Around 80 million acres of land are planted to corn, with the majority of the crop grown in the Heartland region. Although most of the crop is used to feed livestock, corn is also processed into food and industrial products including starch, sweeteners, corn oil, beverage and industrial alcohol, and fuel ethanol. The United States is a major player in the world corn market. Approximately 20 percent of its corn crop is currently exported to other countries. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 11:04 PM 0 Comments

Cellulase Production

Successful utilization of cellulosic materials as renewable carbon sources is dependent on the development of economically feasible process technologies for cellulase production, and for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic materials to low molecular weight products such as hexoses and pentoses. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:50 PM 0 Comments

Biocatalysts for Cellulosic Ethanol


posted by Geetha @ 10:45 PM 0 Comments

Celunol’s Biomass Ethanol Technology


Celunol’s technology enables almost complete conversion of all the sugars found in cellulosic biomass. This efficiency advantage, combined with the low input cost of cellulosic biomass, results in superior economics in the production of ethanol. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:38 PM 0 Comments

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Plan for Cellulosic Ethanol

The new program would provide a cost-share payment and per-acre rental payment to producers who agree to growing energy-dedicated crops for a local biorefinery. This program would also provide a per-ton payment to farmers for collecting, storing, and transporting biomass – such as corn stalks or cobs, or grain straw – to cellulosic ethanol plants. Payments may be made for up to two years and are capped at $45 per ton. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:48 PM 0 Comments

Production of Ethanol from Lignocellulose Feedstocks

Researchers at Taurus Energy, SEKAB, Chalmers Technical University and the University of Lund in Sweden have signed an agreement on development and large scale implementation of a new improved bio-technical process for production of ethanol from lignocellulose feedstocks based on Taurus' yeast technology for fermentation of both six and five-carbon sugars. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 10:46 PM 1 Comments

Corn Ethanol

Ethanol is a clear, colorless alcohol fuel made from the sugars found in grains, such as corn, sorghum, and wheat, as well as potato skins, rice, and yard clippings. Ethanol is a renewable fuel because it is made from plants. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 10:42 PM 0 Comments

Denatured Ethanol or Denatured Alcohol

In most jurisdictions, the sale of ethanol, as a pure substance, or in the form of alcoholic beverages, is heavily taxed. In order to relieve non-beverage industries of this tax burden, governments specify formulations for denatured alcohol, which consists of ethanol blended with various additives to render it unfit for human consumption. These additives, called denaturants, are generally either toxic (such as methanol) or have unpleasant tastes or odors (such as denatonium benzoate). Read

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posted by Geetha @ 10:31 PM 0 Comments

Difference Between Starch and Cellulose

Cellulose is a lot stronger than starch. Starch is practically useless as a material, but celluose is strong enough to make fibers from, and hence rope, clothing, etc. Cellulose doesn't dissolve in water the way starch will, and doesn't break down as easily. Breaking down or dissolving in water just would be a little too inconvenient for something we use to make clothes. Not to mention, a good soaking rain would wash away all the wooden houses, park benches, and playground equipment if cellulose were soluble in water. Read
posted by Geetha @ 9:11 PM 0 Comments

FAQ on Bioenergy and Biomass

Have any questions regarding Bioenergy and Biomass.... Read this

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posted by Geetha @ 8:55 PM 0 Comments

Ethanol Production from Corn

Ethanol production from corn grain involves one of two different processes: Wet milling or dry milling. In wet milling, the corn is soaked in water or dilute acid to separate the grain into its component parts (e.g., starch, protein, germ, oil, kernel fibers) before converting the starch to sugars that are then fermented to ethanol. In dry milling, the kernels are ground into a fine powder and processed without fractionating the grain into its component parts. Most ethanol comes from dry milling. Key steps in the dry mill ethanol-production process include

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posted by Geetha @ 8:45 PM 0 Comments

Production Of Cellulase ethanol


General Biomass Company develops proprietary technology to produce large quantities of cellulase enzymes, the protein catalysts that turn cellulose into glucose more cost effectively. It takes approximately 100 grams of cellulase enzyme proteins to make one gallon of cellulosic ethanol. This means that one billion gallons of fuel ethanol would require 110,000 tons of cellulase enzymes. The ability to produce glucose from cellulose rather than from starch is an enabling technology for many cellulosic bioproducts: ethanol and butanol for biofuels and lactic acid for bioplastics. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 8:40 PM 0 Comments

Purification and Properties of the Cellulases

Three cellulases and a beta-glucosidase were purified from the culture filtrate of the thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus. The isolated enzymes were all homogeneous on polyacrylamide-disc-gel electrophoresis. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 8:36 PM 0 Comments

Major Ethanol Industry Producers

The US and Brazil are the two nations involved in Ethanol productions.Brazil is listed as the second largest Ethanol producer and the largest national exporter of Ethanol fuel. The US is the largest producer nation, with its Ethanol industry providing mainly for the American market. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 8:25 PM 0 Comments

The USA is the largest producer and exporter of ethanol

Ethanol has emerged as the premier alternative fuel to replace gasoline and lessen our dependence on fossil fuels. In Brazil for example, 8 out of every 10 cars on the road already run on ethanol derived from the sugar cane plant. But is it a good idea to use a food source to produce a fuel? By the current rising costs of food and commodities, there’s a very strong case against such notion. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 8:22 PM 0 Comments

Iogen Enzyme and Cellulosic Ethanol Facility


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posted by Geetha @ 8:15 PM 0 Comments

Friday, December 26, 2008

Syntec’s Innovative Technology to Yield Highest Cellulosic Ethanol


Syntec Biofuel Inc , a company developing biomass to fuel conversion technologies, announced that it has achieved a yield of 105 gallons of alcohol per ton of biomass. This marks a major milestone for Syntec as this yield is equivalent to revenues in excess of $27 million per year for a 300 ton per day biomass processing facility. Syntec's technology is based on thermo-chemical conversion of syngas, produced by gasifying biomass, and passing the gas over the catalysts in a fixed bed reactor. This process is similar to producing methanol which is an established and well known technology. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 10:17 PM 0 Comments

Global Ethanol Production Statistics


Ethanol 2020 is a fact-filled, detailed management study, providing a comprehensive analysis and review of major ethanol markets, leading producers, feed stock price trends, import-export trends, government targets, and opportunities for ethanol world-wide. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:13 PM 0 Comments

Process Involved in Preparation of Cellulosic Ethanol

posted by Geetha @ 9:50 PM 0 Comments

Corn to Ethanol Process - Animated

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posted by Geetha @ 5:18 AM 0 Comments

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Endocellulase and Exocellulase

The essential stage in the production of cellulosic ethanol is breaking down the long polymer chains containing glucose molecules. The challenge in the case of cellulose is that these molecules are crystalline in structure, making it difficult to degrade. Talking about cellulosic ethanol, you always have to add the enzymes to digest the material down into single sugars. endocellulase and exocellulase were the solution. One cuts the middle of a cellulose microfibril and the other ‘chews’ it from the end, together producing sugars. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 11:18 PM 0 Comments

Cellulose into Ethanol Costs Reduced by corn plants Containig Cellulose-Eating Enzymes

A team of researchers at Arkansas State University is making headway toward solving a big obstacle in the production of cellulosic ethanol — a less-expensive way to produce the enzymes needed to break down plant cell walls. And the answer could come from a corn kernel, of all places. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 10:46 PM 0 Comments

Worm-like Marine Clam Enzyme used in the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol.

Scientists have received $4 million from the National Institutes of Health to study an enzyme in clams – and to determine if that enzyme could be used to produce cellulosic ethanol. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 10:38 PM 0 Comments

Novozymes To Make Enzymes for Cellulosic Ethanol

Danish chemicals company Novozymes, which is embarking on the largest R&D project in its history, will develop enzymes to turn the inedible parts of corn, such as the leaves and stalk, into cellulosic ethanol. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:31 PM 0 Comments

Cheaper way to Produce Biofuel from Cellulosic

Ethazyme, a bacterium that creates a mixture of enzymes—through a patent-pending system which degrades the tough cell walls of cellulosic materials into bio-fuel ready sugars in one step, which are then converted into ethanol and other biofuels at a significantly lower cost and with fewer caustic chemicals than current methods. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 10:12 PM 0 Comments

The Ethanol Production Process - Wet Milling

In wet milling, the grain is soaked or "steeped" in water and dilute sulfurous acid for 24 to 48 hours. This steeping facilitates the separation of the grain into its many component parts.
After steeping, the corn slurry is processed through a series of grinders to separate the corn germ. The corn oil from the germ is either extracted on-site or sold to crushers who extract the corn oil. The remaining fiber, gluten and starch components are further segregated using centrifugal, screen and hydroclonic separators. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:08 PM 0 Comments

Simple Process For Making Cellulosic Ethanol With Low Cost

New genetically modified bacteria could slash the costs of producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass, such as corn cobs and leaves, switchgrass, and paper pulp. The microbes produce ethanol at higher temperatures than are possible using yeast, which is currently employed to ferment sugar into the biofuel. The higher temperature more than halves the quantity of the costly enzymes needed to split cellulose into the sugars that the microbes can ferment.

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posted by Geetha @ 10:01 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol Emerge as a Next Fuel

Cellulosic ethanol would soon emerge as the next phase in ethanol production. The surprise is that wood would be the feedstock of choice given the vast headstart of corn-based biorefineries in the country and the obvious synergy of basing corn stover conversion technologies near sugar fermentation plants. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 9:42 PM 0 Comments

Bluefire the Toppest Bioenergy Companies in 2008-09

BlueFire has been recognized by the California Energy Commission. It is one of four ethanol companies that garnered funds from the U.S. Department of Energy to construct ethanol production facilities in order to decrease landfill waste and increase biofuel supplies. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 9:04 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic ethanol Chemistry

On a blackboard, it looks so simple: Take a plant and extract the cellulose. Add some enzymes and convert the cellulose molecules into sugars. Ferment the sugar into alcohol. Then distill the alcohol into fuel. One, two, three, four — and we're powering our cars with lawn cuttings, wood chips, and prairie grasses instead of Middle East oil. Read
posted by Geetha @ 8:57 PM 0 Comments

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Iogen Specializes in Producing Ethanol from Cellulosic Material.

Conventional yeast can ferment glucose to ethanol, but it cannot ferment xylose. Xylose makes up about 30 percent of the sugar from agricultural residues, and the inability to ferment xylose would represent a major loss of ethanol yield, Ho said.

The Purdue researchers altered the genetic structure of the yeast so that it now contains three additional genes that make it possible to simultaneously convert glucose and xylose to ethanol. The ability to ferment xylose increases the yield of ethanol from straw by about 40 percent. Read

posted by Geetha @ 8:53 PM 0 Comments

Cellulose Structure and Hydrolysis


Understanding the conversion of biomass to ethanol begins with understanding the structural and chemical complexity of the three primary polymers that make up plant cell walls: Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin Enzymes such as cellulases, hemicellulases, and other glycosyl hydrolases synthesized by fungi and bacteria work together in a synergistic fashion to degrade the structural polysaccharides in biomass. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 8:46 PM 0 Comments

Increase in Ethanol Yield from New Technology

The new technology features a fast, mild, acid-free pretreatment process that increases by at least 10 times the amount of simple sugars released from inexpensive biomass for conversion to ethanol. The technology effectively eliminates the use of expensive and environmentally unsafe chemicals currently used to pretreat biomass. Read

posted by Geetha @ 8:38 PM 0 Comments

Cellulose-Ethanol Pretreatment, Hydrolysis, Fermentation

Ethanol is an alcohol made from the fermentation of the carbohydrate or sugar fraction in
biomass (plant) materials. The most common substrate used for ethanol production in the
United States today is starch from agricultural crops, primarily corn. Only a portion of the
corn kernel (starch fraction) is used to produce ethanol. The other components of the kernel,
such as the germ and hull, are processed into animal feed, corn oil, or other food and
industrial products.
Several organizations are working on technologies to advance pretreatment and
conversion processes to improve the rate of conversion, yield and efficiency for more
economical ethanol production from cellulosic feedstocks. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 8:33 PM 0 Comments

Ethanol Pretreatment Process in Cost Effective

Ethanol now comes from corn kernels. Zhang's cost-effective pretreatment process that integrates three technologies - cellulose solvent pretreatment, concentrated acid saccharification, and organosolv, and overcomes the limitations of existing processes. Zhang uses a strong cellulose solvent instead of highly corrosive chemicals, high pressure, and high temperature to breakup the linkages among lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 8:30 PM 0 Comments

The Future Of Ethanol Production

it has become clear that the future of fuel must come from using Green Waste, and the focus in the US and Japan has shifted to producing Ethanol from the sugars found in potato skins, rice, and yard clippings. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 8:23 PM 0 Comments

POET Biorefining Undergoing Ethanol Plant Expansion

POET Biorefining - Laddonia, Mo. is undergoing a $2 million expansion that will increase the plant's capacity and provide a larger market for locally produced corn. Read
posted by Geetha @ 4:21 AM 0 Comments

DOE Invest up to $385 Million for Six Biorefinery Projects

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it will invest up to $385 million over the next four years for six biorefinery projects capable of producing more than 130 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 12:35 AM 0 Comments

Goldman Sachs & Co. Invested C$30 Million With Iogen Corporation

The buzz this week in the promising but elusive field of cellulosic ethanol, came in the form of a major Wall Street firm acquiring an equity position with a Canadian company hopeful for commercial success. The funds will be used to accelerate Iogen's commercialization of cellulose ethanol technology. Goldman Sachs' investment gives it a minority stake in Iogen, the only company to be operating a demonstration facility that converts agriculture materials like straw, corn stalks, and switchgrass to ethanol. Read more

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posted by Geetha @ 12:01 AM 0 Comments

Monday, December 22, 2008

World’s First Dual-Fuel Motorcycle from Yamaha


Yamaha is developing the world’s first dual-fuel motorcycle able to switch between petrol and cheaper, more environmentally friendly ethanol fuels, MCN can exclusively reveal.

The Yamaha drawings show the technology on a single-cylinder commuter bike – if Yamaha hopes to sell large numbers of the bikes, targeting the most cost-conscious market is a smart move. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 9:53 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol Companies and Their Investments

Cellulosic ethanol (aka lignocellulosic ethanol, or ceetoh) is a type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, that comprises much of the mass of plants. Get to know the complete list of Cellulosic ethanol companies leading the industry. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 9:45 PM 0 Comments

Ethanol Conversion Technologies and Techniques Have Attracted Investment

The urgency of the quest to produce fuel from woody and other plant wastes has been heightened by the 'food versus fuel' debate. Technologies for processing plant matter into usable fuels are evolving. Pilot labs are racing to perfect chemical techniques and produce the ultimate new, second-generation biofuel. Read
posted by Geetha @ 8:03 PM 0 Comments

ICM to Build Ethanol Plant

Stakeholders behind the development of an ethanol plant in southwestern Ontario confirmed that ICM Inc. will build the plant. The Kansas-based firm specializes in the design and construction of more than 50 such plants in North America, including a Suncor ethanol plant underway in Lambton County. That plant is to be completed this summer. Read
posted by Geetha @ 1:07 AM 0 Comments

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Range Fuels Permit to Create the First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant in America.

Range fuels will be creating its ethanol from wood chips, which contain a very large amount of energy (think fire.) The plant, which will be completed in 2008, will create over 100 million gallons of ethanol per year. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 6:27 AM 0 Comments

Coskata Received $19.5 Million Equity Financing Both From Initial and New Investors

Warrenville, Ill.-based cellulosic ethanol developer Coskata Inc. has secured a Series C round of equity financing led by New York-based Blackstone Cleantech Venture Partners LP. In addition to Blackstone, new investors include Sumitomo and Arancia. Several of Coskata’s earlier Series A and Series B investors also participated in the Series C round, including Khosla Ventures, Advanced Technology Ventures, Globespan Capital Partners and TriplePoint Capital. General Motors Corp., which previously has provided Coskata with funding, did not participate in this latest round of financing. The valuation and terms of the financing round were not disclosed. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 6:02 AM 0 Comments

KL’s Cellulosic Ethanol Plant is Converting Waste Wood into a Renewable Fuel

In a development that could dramatically advance the renewable fuels industry, cellulosic ethanol is now in production at the first small scale waste wood commercial facility operating in the U.S. Wyoming, the plant was engineered, constructed and is operated by KL Process Design Group (KL). This is the result of six years of development efforts between KL and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Read

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posted by Geetha @ 5:57 AM 0 Comments

Snapshot of Five Leading Cellulosic Ethanol

Several startups in the race to bring next-generation ethanol to market last week got shots of the financial world’s version of performance-enhancing drugs.
Several cellulosic ethanol companies, such as Cambridge, Massachusets-based Verenium, have already begun work on pilot or demonstration plants. Many more, such as Broomfield, Colorado-based Range Fuels, say they plan to make their next-generation ethanol commercially available before the end of the decade. Read
posted by Geetha @ 1:41 AM 0 Comments

Friday, December 19, 2008

Cellulosic Ethanol Education

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posted by Geetha @ 11:24 PM 0 Comments

Will Ethanol Solve All Of Our Problems?

Ethanol is certainly a valuable tool in our efforts to address the economic and environmental problems associated with fossil fuels. But even the most optimistic projections suggest it can only replace a fraction of the 140 billion gallons of gasoline that Americans consume every year. But if we're serious about achieving energy independence and mitigating global warming, Tilman and other experts said, one of those solutions must be energy conservation.
1. Current fermentation processes (with yeasts) are only about 10-15% efficient
2. The claims of yield of cellulosic conversions whether from fermentation or by the so-called thermo-chemical.
3. The Tennessee study cited seems very optimistic, But we know the farmer states will have the votes via the Senate. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 11:18 PM 0 Comments

How Much Gasoline Could Cellulosic Ethanol Replace?

Studies suggest that cellulosic ethanol could yield at least four to six times the energy expended to produce it. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the United States could produce more than a billion tons of cellulosic material annually for ethanol production, from switchgrass grown on marginal agricultural lands to wood chips and other waste produced by the timber industry. In theory, that material could produce enough ethanol to substitute for about 30 percent of the country's oil consumption. A University of Tennessee study released in November reached similar conclusions. As much as 100 million acres of land would have to be dedicated to energy crops in order to reach the goal of substituting renewable biofuels for 25 percent of the nation's fuel consumption by 2025, the report estimated.
posted by Geetha @ 11:12 PM 0 Comments

Why Corn Prices Can Climb so Dramatically When Shortages Occur.?

The market price of corn is determined by the user with the lowest maximum price such that the total demand for corn at this price equals the total supply of corn. This last user is often referred to as the marginal user of corn. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:55 PM 0 Comments

Facts About Alternative Fuel

These days, everyone is talking about going green. There is a huge push right now for people to switch from traditional gasoline powered vehicles to those that run on alternative fuels. The fact of the matter is that alternative fuels are environmentally friendly and can actually help conserve natural resources that we use to produce petroleum-based gasoline. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:49 PM 0 Comments

Can Agriculture Afford for Ethanol to be a Surplus Commodity

Through the hard work of nearly every corn farmer and various commodity and farm organizations, ethanol has become a significant motor fuel and new use of surplus corn. While corn has moved from surplus to a demand commodity in the past several years, more ethanol plants have been produced to meet the demand for ethanol by the motoring public and to satisfy the various governmental mandates for it use. But at some point ethanol will be found in nearly all of the US motor fuel, and what happens at that point of market saturation. Read
posted by Geetha @ 9:02 PM 0 Comments

Ethanol Requirement Increases year by year

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 17 that the 2009 renewable fuel standard (RFS) will require most refiners, importers, and non-oxygenate blenders of gasoline to displace 10.21% of their gasoline with renewable fuels such as ethanol. That requirement aims to ensure that at least 11.1 billion gallons of fuels will be sold in 2009. . . . While the RFS requirement is increasing by about 23%—from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 11.1 billion gallons in 2009—the percentage requirement is increasing by nearly one third, from 7.76% in 2008 to 10.21% in 2009. Read
posted by Geetha @ 8:58 PM 0 Comments

Targets for Production of Cellulosic Ethanol

The report estimates that the cellulosic industry as a whole will only have 6.3 million gallons worth of manufacturing capacity by the end of this year. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 8:35 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol Projects Receive up to $33.8 million

The projects focus on developing improved enzyme systems to convert cellulosic material into sugars suitable for the production of biofuels. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 6:59 AM 0 Comments

New Technology to Make Ethanol from Crops Such as Grasses and Trees instead of corn

Output of U.S. ethanol, which is mostly made from corn, is expected to jump in 2007 from 5.6 billion gallons per year to 8 billion gpy, as nearly 80 bio-refineries sprout up.
Corn prices have doubled over the last year as the Bush administration, seeking to reduce oil imports while boosting output of fuels believed to cut greenhouse gas emissions, offers millions of dollars in incentives to boost ethanol production. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 1:42 AM 0 Comments

GM Investment in a Developer of Cellulosic Ethanol Technology

General Motors Corp. and Mascoma Corp. a strategic relationship to develop cellulosic ethanol focused on Mascoma's single-step biochemical conversion of non-grain biomass into low-carbon alternative fuels to help address increasing energy demand. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 12:52 AM 0 Comments

Invest in Cellulosic Ethanol Stocks. Get Rich

Read this articles on Cellulosic Ethanol.

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posted by Geetha @ 12:41 AM 0 Comments

Lack of Investment in Cellulosic Ethanol is Causing Major Project Delays

Lack of investment in cellulosic ethanol is causing major project delays and industry stagnation, according to a business leader in the ethanol industry. Read this

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posted by Geetha @ 12:36 AM 0 Comments

UK oil giant BP will Invest $90 Million into Verenium

UK oil giant BP will invest $90 million into Verenium over the next 18 months to both access Verenium’s cellulosic ethanol technology, and with plans to create a joint venture to work on cellulosic ethanol production. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 12:33 AM 0 Comments

Thursday, December 18, 2008

GreenShift Corporation is to receive a $38 million investment to Produce 20 million Gallons per Year of Biodiesel

GreenShift will receive an investment of $38 million in a new GreenShift joint venture subsidiary that will use the proceeds to build twelve corn oil extraction facilities and to expand the capacity of GreenShift's NextDiesel biodiesel refinery in Adrian, Michigan to 20 million gallons per year. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 11:36 PM 0 Comments

Which is Pricier - Food or Fuel?

We’ve heard plenty about rising fuel prices, but have you stopped to notice what’s going on with food prices? They’re exploding. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 11:35 PM 0 Comments

Great Market Demand Potential for Cellulosic Ethanol

The fate of Cellulosic ethanol industry will be decided by current and future market demand. There is a great market demand potential, which are attracting continued investment in and development of future ethanol technology with the government's policy and financial support. Read
posted by Geetha @ 11:23 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol Research and Development

The product development phase in cellulosic ethanol research and development is relatively under funded compared to other phases. The analysis identifies roughly three development stages prior to commercial-scale production: (1) Basic discovery and R&D, (2) Product development and (3) Pilot/Demonstration plants.

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posted by Geetha @ 11:06 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol Production process


Production Process of Cellulosic ethanol is provided in detail. Also see the advantages of Cellulosic ethanol.
Six U.S. Bio Energy plants underway to produce cellulosic ethanol
  • Kansas : Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass. Capacity to produce 11.4 million gallons of ethanol annually and enough energy to power the facility, with any excess energy being used to power the adjacent corn dry grind mill. The plant will use ~700 tons per day of corn stover, wheat straw, milo stubble, switchgrass, and other feedstocks. (bio/thermo)
  • LaBelle ( Hendry County), Florida. ALICO, Inc. Capacity to produce 13.9 million gallons of ethanol annually using ~770 tons per day of yard, wood, and vegetative wastes and eventually energy cane. (thermo/fermentation)
  • Southern California . BlueFire Ethanol, Inc. Sited on an existing landfill, with capacity to produce 19 million gallons of ethanol annually using ~700 tons per day of sorted green waste and wood waste from landfills. (bio)
  • Emmetsburg ( Palo Alto County), Iowa. Capacity to produce 125 million gallons of ethanol annually (~25% will be cellulosic ethanol) using ~850 tons per day of corn fiber, cobs, and stalks. (bio)
  • Shelley , Idaho . Iogen Biorefinery Partners, LLC. Capacity to produce 18 million gallons of ethanol annually using ~700 tons per day of agricultural residues including wheat straw, barley straw, corn stover, switchgrass, and rice straw. (bio)
  • Soperton ( Treutlen County), Georgia. Range Fuels (formerly Kergy Inc.). Capacity to produce 40 million gallons of ethanol annually and 9 million gallons per year of methanol, using ~1,200 tons per day of wood residues and wood based energy crops. (thermo). Read this

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posted by Geetha @ 10:55 PM 0 Comments

Energy-crops developer Ceres Inc. Sells Selling Switchgrass and High-biomass Sorghum Seed

Energy-crops developer Ceres Inc. announced that it has begun selling switchgrass and high-biomass sorghum seed in possibly the first seed sales of non-food, low-carbon crops developed specifically as raw materials for cellulosic ethanol. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:42 PM 0 Comments

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Cellulosic Ethanol Facility in South Korea

Ubiex has signed a professional services agreement with BlueFire Ethanol Fuels to develop a cellulosic ethanol facility that will be located in South Korea. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:26 PM 0 Comments

USA & Brazil Invest in Cellulosic Ethanol Projects

The United States and Brazil will team up to accelerate research in the area of cellulose-derived biofuels, which utilize inedible plant matter as feedstock instead of crops.
The two nations will also join forces to assist five countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean to develop their own biofuel industries. Additionally, the two nations will invest $4.3 million in biofuel projects in Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras, Guinea Bissau and Senegal. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 10:17 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol Depends on Government support

The price of ethanol is closely tied to the price of oil. Ethanol composes a tiny fraction of total fuel consumption, and as an alternative to oil, it must therefore be sold at a price that competes with oil. As the price of oil rises, the price at which ethanol producers can sell their ethanol also rises.
Still in its nascency, cellulosic ethanol depends heavily on government support, including broad support for ethanol. When the government announces new initiatives to support renewable energy, ethanol, or cellulosic ethanol, stocks in the sector tend to benefit. Cellulosic ethanol in particular, which requires investment in R&D before it can achieve cost-parity with grain-based ethanol, will be supported by the widespread adoption of new distribution systems and automotive technologies. Read
posted by Geetha @ 10:10 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol Research and Development in America

In the near-term, technology improvements derived from research activities can be incorporated into existing ethanol plants, utilizing cellulose associated with the kernel of corn and corn stover to make ethanol production more efficient, leverage investments in existing production facilities and feedstock logistics, and increase farm income. This approach offers a cost-effective and efficient transition model to expand production of ethanol from other biomass materials. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 9:58 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol Projects in USA

Here are the List of U.S. Cellulosic Ethanol Projects, Under Development and Construction
posted by Geetha @ 9:55 PM 0 Comments

Economical Methods for producing Cellulosic Ethanol

Researchers at the LSU AgCenter’s Audubon Sugar Institute are combining their knowledge of sugarcane processing and chemical engineering to develop a synergy between sugar production and ethanol. LSU AgCenter researchers are looking at nonfood sources of sugar as alternatives. Some of these sources include cellulosic materials, such as a plant called energy cane, sweet sorghum, a grass called miscanthus and bagasse – the fibrous portion of a sugarcane stalk that remains after the juice is squeezed out. Read
posted by Geetha @ 8:28 PM 0 Comments

Companies Investing in Ethanol Production

Vinod Khosla is still investing in technology, but much of it has nothing to do with the world of network computing in which he made his name. He is particularly excited about new ways of producing ethanol, which he says could rapidly displace gasoline.
Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group, plans to invest $300 million to $400 million to produce and market ethanol made from corn and other sources.
Investment, Gates's private investment firm, has declared its intention to buy $84 million in newly issued preferred convertible securities in Pacific Ethanol.
read more

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posted by Geetha @ 8:15 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol is Turning Out to be an Underachiever so far

The 2008 Energy Independence and Security Act set a goal of producing 100 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol in the U.S. by 2010 and 250 million gallons by 2011, but a survey conducted by David Woodburn of ThinkEquity strongly indicates that the industry is likely to miss its mark.
Woodburn expects only 28.5 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol to be produced in the U.S. in 2010, leaving a 71.5 million gallon gap. Read
posted by Geetha @ 8:00 PM 0 Comments

Incentives Required for Cellulosic Ethanol

Verenium Corp Chairman Carlos Riva said the 5-year U.S. farm law enacted last month was a good start in boosting cellulosic technology, which aims to produce large quantities of ethanol for fuel from switchgrass, crop residues and other plant cellulose wastes. Ethanol in the United States is now mostly made from corn.
The new farm law provides $320 million in loan guarantees for the next two years for construction of cellulosic refineries. But an additional $150 million may be allocated if lawmakers are able to find the funding. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 7:54 PM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethano Potential in India

The drivers of ethanol potentiel in India have the ability to provide environmentally friendly alternative fuels, to support Indian farmers ( with a higher production of sugar cane) and to lower India's dependence on imports of crude oil (70% of India's fuel is imported). Government's drive (in particular towards assisting consumption) was stressed to further developments of ethanol in India. Read
posted by Geetha @ 7:45 PM 0 Comments

High Food Prices? why?

For the last time ethanol cannot be blamed for higher bills at the grocery store. Last summer, it seemed that everybody with a voice was blaming higher food costs on ethanol consumption. Despite numerous studies proving that increases in food prices were related to higher fuel costs and other factors ethanol took the blame. Read
posted by Geetha @ 6:03 AM 0 Comments

Cellulosic Ethanol Starts Booming

Iogen today announced it has shipped the first 100,000 litres (26,417 gallons) of an initial 180,000 litre (47,550 gallons) cellulosic ethanol order from Shell. Read
posted by Geetha @ 5:58 AM 0 Comments

Preparation of Ethanol

Ethanol is made in the same way any other alcoholic beverage is also made. Ethanol is normally made from any type of feedstock that contains a good amount of sugar. Feedstock that is high in starch can also be used since starch can be converted into sugar. Corn is commonly used in the United States to make ethanol. However in Brazil, ethanol is made using sugar cane. In Canada, barley is used to make ethanol. Read this
posted by Geetha @ 5:55 AM 0 Comments

85ethanol Subtitutes Gasoline

85ethanol can be manufactured with the available resources and this, in fact, will be more cost effective. Moreover, producing a substitute for gasoline gives immense satisfaction. 85ethanol production helps in being totally independent, and the non requirement of fuel reduces our dependency and burden on oil. Read
posted by Geetha @ 5:53 AM 0 Comments

E-Fuel MicroFueler - Home-Brew Ethanol Kit


E-Fuel’s Microfueler is a portable unit which resembles a portable gas (petrol) pump. It features an LCD touch screen interface and a retractable pumping hose that extends to 50 feet (about 17 metres), allowing the user to situate the pump in a convenient location at home without needing to place it directly beside a vehicle.

E-Fuel co-founder Floyd Butterfield is a scientist who has been working on an at-home ethanol brewing kit for many years. In 2006 he conceived the design for the MicroFueler and in March 2007 Quinn signed on to create the company.
posted by Geetha @ 5:49 AM 0 Comments

Fuel for your Empty Car?

Would you prefer food for an empty stomach or fuel for your empty car? The question seems to be a no-brainer, and similar arguments have been advanced by the pro-food brigade who contend that energy-crop programmes compete with food crops in a number of ways (agricultural, rural investment, infrastructure, water, fertilizers, skilled labour etc.) and thus cause food shortages and price increases. Read more
posted by Geetha @ 3:30 AM 0 Comments

Monday, December 15, 2008

Cellulosic Ethanol FAQ

With high gas prices making alternative fuels increasingly attractive, no alternative fuel has received as much attention as ethanol.
Curious to know more about Ethanol? Visit this site

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posted by Geetha @ 5:53 AM 0 Comments

Ethanol - Will it be The Future?

Cellulosic ethanol has the potential to substantially reduce our consumption of gasoline. Major companies and research organizations are also realizing the potential. Cellulosic ethanol can be produced from a wide variety of cellulosic biomass feedstocks including agricultural plant wastes (corn stover, cereal straws, sugarcane bagasse), plant wastes from industrial processes (sawdust, paper pulp) and energy crops grown specifically for fuel production, such as switchgrass. Cellulosic biomass is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, with smaller amounts of proteins, lipids (fats, waxes and oils) and ash. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 5:46 AM 0 Comments

A Better Biofuel - Cellulosic Ethanol

Cellulosic ethanol, the biofuel that differs from corn-based ethanol in that it can be made from pretty much any organic matter, has made an impression among people who matter.
Alan Greenspan, the revered former chairman of the Federal Reserve with a big distaste for irrational exuberance, recently sang its praises before a Congressional hearing on energy security. Greenspan said cellulosic ethanol is the only alternative energy source that could be produced in enough volume to make a dent in gas usage. Read
posted by Geetha @ 5:44 AM 0 Comments

Ethanol Versus Gasoline

Putting ethanol instead of gasoline in your tank saves oil and is probably no worse for the environment than burning gasoline, according to a new analysis by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. read
posted by Geetha @ 5:42 AM 0 Comments

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Cellulosic Ethanol Blog Started

Hi there!

This blog will provide regular updates on the interesting world of cellulosic ethanol
posted by Ecacofonix @ 7:37 PM 0 Comments