Companies Working on Cellulosic Technology
Two companies have formed an alliance to commercialize a patented process to economically and efficiently produce ethanol from cellulose feedstocks.
The ChemPro Group of New Jersey has joined with Mo-Fuel (Rural Bio-waste) of Sikeston, Missouri on the project. According to Steve Lavorerio, President of ChemPro, the process can handle a full spectrum of cellulosic feedstock, from wood chips and pulp-and-paper-plant byproducts to corn stover, rice straw, grass, and even municipal waste.
“The process, which lends itself to modular construction, is also economical as an add-on to existing corn ethanol plants,” said Lavorerio. “It can process the low-value waste product with the potential to increase yields of ethanol by 15% and improve the value of by-products by 50%.”
The first step being taken by the alliance is the construction of a mobile feedstock testing unit that will be used to generate process data from various types of cellulosic feedstock. The unit is expected to be operational in early 2010.