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New Processes Release Energy From Cellulose
Menlo Park CA (SPX) Dec 18, 2008 The significant increase in global production of ethanol as a biofuel is driven by the need to decrease dependence on petroleum products and reduce pollution. In 2007, worldwide production of ethanol was over 57 billion liters, and in the U.S. alone, production exceeded 24 billion liters. Corn or sugarcane is the main feedstock for global ethanol production. Because the potential future growth of these feedstocks is limited, a variety of cellulosic biomass feedstocks are being developed. Today, SRI Consulting (SRIC) published its new Biochemical Cellulosic Ethanol report that details the processes and economics for several promising new technologies for biochemical production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass. Biomass contains lignocellulose, a plentiful alternative source for the sugars needed to produce ethanol. Lignocellulosic materials are found in various crop and municipal solid wastes and go unused throughout the world. Lignocellulosic materials are difficult to convert into chemical products due to their complex polymeric structures. SRIC's Biochemical Cellulosic Ethanol report focuses on process designs and associated cost estimates for producing ethanol in the U.S. from cellulosic biomass such as corn stover, corn cobs and municipal solid waste. Four economic models are provided for the following processes: dilute acid pretreatment, concentrated acid hydrolysis, ammonia pretreatment, and conventional corn dry milling. For two decades, the U.S. has funded research to convert biomass to ethanol and in 2005, surpassed Brazil as the largest ethanol producer in the world. Energy legislation over the last several years demonstrates a commitment to renewable, domestically sourced biofuels. Today, there are over one hundred and thirty corn based biorefineries and nearly forty in development. The "2010 Initiative" aims to increase the use of renewable fuels by 20% in ten years. In 2007, the US Department of Energy committed up to US$ 385 million for six commercial scale projects using lignocellulose as feedstock. Two thirds of these projects will use biochemical methods. Marcos Nogueira Cesar, author of the report and Regional Director of Latin American Operations at SRIC commented, "Brazil is the only country that has an economically sustainable bioindustry mainly due to the government's foresight to subsidize the industry twenty years ago. Brazil produced sixteen billion liters of ethanol in 2005 using mostly sugar cane, which is an efficient feedstock with an organized infrastructure established by the sugar cane industry." Mr. Cesar added that "Feedstock is about two thirds of the cost of producing ethanol. Cellulosic feed stock has the potential to be cheaper and higher volume than food crops like corn and sugar cane." Mr. Nogueira Cesar summarized the outlook for these new technologies: "In the near future, biomass will not be competitive with corn milling, the main technology in the U.S. today. The main barriers are the high capital investment required for a new plant and the development of a feedstock infrastructure. The biochemical methods described in this report are promising but they will need continued government support to make biomass utilization sustainable." Related Links SRI Consulting Bio Fuel Technology and Application News
Energy Dept. biofuels grants available
Washington (UPI) Dec 22, 2008 Up to $200 million for pilot and demonstration-scale biorefineries is available to develop cost-efficient advanced biofuels, the U.S. Energy Department says. |
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