Monday, January 5, 2009

Development of Next-Generation Cellulosic Ethanol

Next-generation cellulosic ethanol uses advanced enzyme science to reduce the cost of ethanol production and enable the use of a wide variety of biomass. Unlike traditional ethanol manufactured using natural gas or coal, cellulosic ethanol from biomass can be broken
down into fermentable sugars using acid or enzymatic hydrolysis. Read

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posted by Geetha @ 3:50 AM 0 Comments

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

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

Sunday, December 28, 2008

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

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

Friday, December 26, 2008

Corn to Ethanol Process - Animated

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posted by Geetha @ 5:18 AM 0 Comments

Thursday, December 25, 2008

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

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

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

Friday, December 19, 2008

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

Thursday, December 18, 2008

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