Ger Bemer, Chief Executive Officer at Royal Nedalco, is sure that the first cellullosic ethanol we will have at the pump will come from a yeast process, not bacteria. According to him, bacteria are too sensitive to infections and this makes the R&D process slow, because companies have to take smaller steps until they can find a stable method for obtaining ethanol from switchgrass. Mr. Berner says that yeasts, on the other hand, are more resistant, have been used by the industry for more years, and can offer results immediately.

He's so sure of his claim that Royal Nedalco is not bothering with an experimental plant: it's going to start production immediately at a new cellullosic ethanol production facility in Sas van Gent (the Netherlands), with an annual production capacity of approximately 200 million liters. Mr. Berner justifies the decision by saying the market potential is there now.

Related:

• Cellulosic ethanol summit scheduled for next week
• Is it time? POET wants to bring cellulosic ethanol plant to Iowa
• Mascoma Corporation moving to be first with switchgrass cellulosic ethanol plant

[Source: Ethanol Statistics]

Let's check out another method which promises to deliver cheap ethanol from something that's not edible. According to Mercedes Ballesteros, a scientist working for the Unidad de Biomasa del Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (Ciemat), ethanol can be obtained from urban solid waste (aka, home garbage).

First of all, all non-organic and/or pollutant waste must be separated from the organic part (in some European cities there are special containers to classify trash for this purpose). This organic fraction is then chemically treated with diluted acid to convert cellulose into glucose which is then fermented to obtain ethanol. Her estimates are that 10 to 12 kg of domestic waste can produce 1 liter of ethanol using this method (about 93 pounds of waste for a gallon). The most efficient process? No, but we're at least getting something from, basically, nothing.

Related:

• Cellulosic ethanol summit scheduled for next week
• Is it time? POET wants to bring cellulosic ethanol plant to Iowa
• Mascoma Corporation moving to be first with switchgrass cellulosic ethanol plant

[Source: Público]