January 15, 2008

Cellulose, 5 times as efficient, may overturn debate on corn ethanol

A Texas-based ethanol company is leading the charge towards cellulose-based ethanol, citing studies that showed that ethanol made from cellulose feed stocks can produce five times more energy than consumed in their production.

The finding could have huge implications for the feed industry as corn supplies are increasingly drawn towards ethanol plants mushrooming all across the Mid-west.

The Gulf Ethanol Corporation, in a news release, cited recent studies by the USDA and the University of Nebraska.

Farmers in Nebraska and the Dakotas participated in the five-year study by planting switchgrass and carefully recording all costs for fuel, fertilizer and other costs.

The study concludes that ethanol production would equal 300 gallons per acre.

One of the main reasons against corn ethanol production so far has been the inefficiency involved in production.

The energy yielded by corn ethanol is only 25 percent above the energy needed to produce it, according to the company. Various studies have cited the energy yield from corn ethanol as 35 percent above to double. Cellulose on the other hand, could yield 540 percent, according to the studies.

The news release predicts that the ethanol market would get hotter than it already is, with big names in the agricultural industry such as ADM, Cargill and Bunge Limited already leading the charge toward higher ethanol production. The impending entry of oil majors such as ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil into the field would take the competition up a few notches.

Gulf Ethanol is an alternative energy company focused on the development of cellulosic ethanol technologies with a particular emphasis on Texas and the Gulf Coast. They hold an exclusive license to a cellulosic feedstock pre-processing technology that they intend to deploy in cooperation with Meridian Biorefining through a joint venture.

A shortfall in the US corn crop for 2008 is expected as voracious buying from new ethanol plants and farmers' possible cutting back of corn acreage meant even tighter supplies of corn this year.

Current US ethanol production capacity stands at about 7.3 billion gallons. The amount is expected to rise close to 80 percent to 13.3 billion gallons by the end of 2008.