[Terrapreta] range fuels

[lou gold]

More here:

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/11/07/range-fuels-breaks-ground-on-americas-1st-cellulosic-ethanol-pl/






On Nov 8, 2007 5:15 PM, Kevin Chisholm <kchisholm at ca.inter.net> wrote:

> Dear Kelpie
>
> Kelpie Wilson wrote:
> > Have folks seen this one?
> > Anyone know what this "thermal conversion process" is?
> I suspect that it might be the process they employ to "open up the woody
> biomass" so that the enzymatic hydrolysis process can proceed.
> Basically, woody fibres are encased in lignin, which prevents enzyme
> access to the cellulose. If the lignin coating is "opened", then the
> enzymes can convert the cellulose to a fermentable form of sugar.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Kevin
>
>
> >
> > Range Says Will Make Wood Cellulosic Fuel in 2008
> > US: November 8, 2007
> >
> > NEW YORK - Private US company Range Fuels broke ground on Tuesday on a
> > biorefinery that will be the first plant to make commercial levels of
> > cellulosic ethanol starting next year, its CEO said.
> >
> > Range Fuels is one of six companies that will receive a total of about
> > US$385 million in grants from the US Department of Energy for making
> > cellulosic fuel.
> > The biorefinery is being built in Georgia, home to large swaths of
> > private forest land. It will initially make 20 million gallons per
> > year of ethanol from sawdust, pine trees and wood bits left over from
> > cutting down lumber. It is slated to eventually grow to 100 million
> > gpy of production.
> >
> > Mitch Manditch, the CEO of Range Fuels, said ideally the plant would
> > use mostly wood waste as a feedstock.
> >
> > "That's our preference, just to keep costs down, because no one else
> > wants that wood," he said in a telephone interview.
> >
> > Making cellulosic ethanol currently costs about twice as much as US
> > traditional ethanol made mostly from corn. But industry experts
> > estimate that costs will fall enough to let cellulosic become a
> > commercial fuel in several years, one that will emit less greenhouse
> > gases and won't use up prime farm land like corn-based ethanol does.
> >
> >
> > ETHANOL GLUT
> >
> > US ethanol refining capacity has shot up 30 percent since Jan 1. to 7
> > billion gpy as the Bush administration offers companies incentives to
> > make a domestic source of fuel. Record oil prices near US$100 a barrel
> > and concerns about greenhouse gases have also fueled a rise to
> > cellulosic ethanol.
> >
> > But the boom has helped lead to low ethanol prices and high corn
> > prices that have crushed margins for making the fuel. Since wood waste
> > is far cheaper as a feedstock, Range hopes the plant would eventually
> > be more profitable than corn biorefineries.
> >
> > Cellulosic ethanol is made from breaking down the woody bits of
> > plants. A whole new range of crops that grow on marginal lands, such
> > as switchgrass, can be used.
> >
> > When the final Range plant is completed, it will cost several hundred
> > million dollars, Manditch said. The plant will receive up to US$76
> > million from the DOE.
> >
> > Range is funded in part by venture capitalists including Vinod Khosla,
> > a top Silicon Valley investor who is also helping to fund US biofuels
> > company Cilion and other alternative energy companies.
> >
> > Manditch said Range will use a thermal conversion process to make the
> > fuel, unlike most other companies that are planning to make it with
> > enzymes to break down the tough feedstocks. He said Range Fuel ethanol
> > will emit about 75 to 80 percent less greenhouse gas than ethanol made
> > from corn. Part of the emissions are saved because the plant will not
> > ferment the feedstock, a process used in corn ethanol, he said.
> >
> > The thermal process can also break down other feedstocks, such as
> > switchgrass, Manditch said.
> >
> > (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Editing by Marguerita Choy)
> >
> >
> >
> > Story by Timothy Gardner
> >
> >
> > Kelpie Wilson
> > PO Box 1444
> > Cave Junction, OR 97523
> >
> > home office phone: 541-592-3083
> > cell (used only when traveling) 213-925-1517
> >
> > /For an archive of my writing and reviews of my novel Primal Tears,
> > visit www.kelpiewilson.com
> >
> > <http://www.kelpiewilson.com/>/
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
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-- 
http://lougold.blogspot.com/
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