Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) produced from cellulose (the stringy fiber of a plant) rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It can be produced from grasses, wood, algae, or other plants. It is generally discussed for use as a biofuel. The carbon dioxide that plants absorb as they grow offsets some of the carbon dioxide emitted when ethanol made from them is burned, so cellulosic ethanol fuel has the potential to have a lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels.
Interest in cellulosic ethanol is driven by its potential to replace ethanol made from corn or sugarcane. Since these plants are also used for food products, diverting them for ethanol production can cause food prices to rise; cellulose-based sources, on the other hand, generally do not compete with food, since the fibrous parts of plants are mostly inedible to humans. Another potential advantage is the high diversity and abundance of cellulose sources; grasses, trees and algae are found in almost every environment on Earth. Even municipal solid waste components like paper could conceivably be made into ethanol. The main current disadvantage of cellulosic ethanol is its high cost of production, which is more complex and requires more steps than corn-based or sugarcane-based ethanol.
Cellulosic ethanol received significant attention in the 2000s and early 2010s. The United States government in particular funded research into its commercialization and set targets for the proportion of cellulosic ethanol added to vehicle fuel. A large number of new companies specializing in cellulosic ethanol, in addition to many existing companies, invested in pilot-scale production plants. However, the much cheaper manufacturing of grain-based ethanol, along with the low price of oil in the 2010s, meant that cellulosic ethanol was not competitive with these established fuels. As a result, most of the new refineries were closed by the mid-2010s and many of the newly founded companies became insolvent. A few still exist, but are mainly used for demonstration or research purposes; as of 2021, none produces cellulosic ethanol at scale.
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Cellulosicethanol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) produced from cellulose (the stringy fiber of a plant) rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It can...
also possible to generate ethanol out of cellulosic materials. That, however, requires a pretreatment that splits the cellulose into glucose molecules and...
Conversion of cellulose from energy crops into biofuels such as cellulosicethanol is under development as a renewable fuel source. Cellulose for industrial...
efficient and lower–cost conversion of cellulose to ethanol.[citation needed] The first materials considered for cellulosic biofuel included plant matter from...
million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the creation of a cellulosicethanol production facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa. A grand opening was held...
convert to electricity. It also has potential for cellulosicethanol (biomass ethanol), which is "ethanol made from non-grain plant materials known as biomass...
Mascoma Corporation was a U.S. biofuel company founded to produce cellulosicethanol made from wood and switchgrass. Headquartered in Lebanon, New Hampshire...
gas emissions by up to 86 percent relative to gasoline. CellulosicethanolEthanol fuel Ethanol fuel in the United States Smil, Vaclav (2017). Energy Transitions:...
reduction of 8%, conventional E85 ethanol blend a reduction of 17% and cellulosicethanol 64%, compared with pure gasoline. Ethanol has a much greater research...
for example enhanced geothermal systems, concentrated solar power, cellulosicethanol, and marine energy. From 2011 to 2021, renewable energy grew from...
(2016), "Cellulosicethanol: what to do with the lignin", Biomass, retrieved 2016-08-10. Abengoa (2016-04-21), The importance of lignin for ethanol production...
such as arabinoxylans, present along with cellulose in almost all terrestrial plant cell walls. Cellulose is crystalline, strong, and resistant to hydrolysis...
world’s first celluloseethanol fuel. Iogen’s cellulosic biofuels technology converts a wide variety of cellulosic feedstocks into ethanol and other biofuels...
yield is higher, and conversion to ethanol is more energy efficient than corn. Recent developments with cellulosicethanol production may improve yields even...
producing commercial quantities of cellulosicethanol. For example, until May 2015, BP operated a cellulosicethanol demonstration plant in Jennings, Louisiana...
being the most frequent match (50% of all fibers), followed by other cellulosic fibers at 29.5% (e.g., rayon/viscose, linen, jute, kenaf, hemp, etc.)...
of food. It may be used to help provide renewable energy, as with cellulosicethanol. Acid hydrolysis Alkaline hydrolysis Digestion enzyme Campbell, Neil...
BP Biofuels Highlands was a subsidiary of BP developing cellulosicethanol project in Florida. It was formerly known as Vercipia Biofuels. The company...
DuPont Danisco CellulosicEthanol LLC is a 50/50 joint venture between DuPont and Genencor, a subsidiary of Danisco. The company is accelerating development...
production of ethanol and cellulosicethanol use enzymes that must be isolated first to be added to the biomass and thus convert the starch or cellulose into simple...
fell in the "biomass-based diesel" category. Cellulosicethanol and cellulosic diesel met the "cellulosic biofuel" standard. The table summarizes the mean...
sugars present in cellulosic biomasses, such as agriculture residues, paper wastes, and wood chips. Such a development means ethanol can be efficiently...
Cellulosic biomass, derived from non-food sources, such as trees and grasses, is also being developed as a feedstock for ethanol production. Ethanol can...
called DuPont Danisco CellulosicEthanol LLC, to develop and commercialize low cost technology for the production of cellulosicethanol. In 2008, Genencor...
Inbicon is a Danish company that produces cellulosicethanol. Elsam, a Danish power company, began looking at using biomass for the production of energy...
microbial consortia and microbial enzymes in bioenergy research. New cellulosicethanol conversion processes have enabled the variety and volume of feedstock...
developing a process to convert biomass into useful products, including cellulosicethanol. The board of directors includes Steven Chu and George Shultz. Employee...
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