Cellulosic Snapshot
Sprinkled evenly across the country, the 25-plus cellulosic ethanol projects in the U.S. are utilizing a variety of conversion methods and feedstocks. While some companies/projects have been around for years, several are quite new, and all are moving at different speeds. Overall progress has been slower than expected when the renewable fuels standard (RFS2) was developed in the Energy Independence and Security Act with targets for mandated use of cellulosic ethanol included...
...Headquartered in Lakewood, Colo., Zeachem Inc. was set to break ground on its 250,000 gallon per year demonstration facility in Boardman, Ore., in early June. Zeachem describes its technology as a hybrid process that fully utilizes all of the available carbon from the cellulose and hemicellulose in a biochemical (fermentation) process, while producing hydrogen from the lignin fraction through a thermochemical process. In May, Zeachem received a $25 million grant awarded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Biomass Program to add cellulosic ethanol production capability to the core ZeaChem technology, which currently produces ethyl acetate. The company plans to use purpose-grown popular trees as a feedstock at its Boardman facility, which is expected to begin producing in 2011.
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