ethanol

Mascoma makes ethanol from wood--at small scale

Start-up company Mascoma said on Wednesday that a demonstration facility is making ethanol from wood chips and other non-food sources, bringing cellulosic ethanol a step closer to commercialization.

The test facility in Rome, N.Y., uses different feedstocks, including wood and grasses. Production is at a rate of 200,000 gallons per year. Mascoma didn't disclose the yield, or how much biomass is converted into fuel.

The company is testing two methods for making ethanol: a traditional enzyme-based process and one using a genetically modified microbe designed to make the conversion cheaper.

Mascoma is one of a handful of … Read more

German electricity plant runs on corn waste

German scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems have developed an electricity plant that produces its biogas, a form of biofuel, from non-edible plant waste.

The Dresden, Germany, plant produces biogas from corn waste like husks and stalks, notably not cobs. Like other bioenergy plants, the biogas is then converted into electricity at the plant.

Because this electricity plant does not use any edible crop sources, the system, if scaled up for wider use, would not interfere with world food supplies, according to a statement from the group.

Not only is the plant agro-friendly because it avoids … Read more

Green news harvest: Ethanol industry falls short

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

Goals for Ethanol Production Are in Peril - The New York Times"The ethanol industry is on its back despite the billions of dollars they have gotten in taxpayer assistance, and a guaranteed market," according to one analyst. And the industry is unlikely to meet government production mandates. Saudi Oil Min: Renewables Push Could Create Energy Havoc - Dow JonesSaudi oil minister warns of a "nightmare scenario of diminishing energy supplies" if renewable energy is adopted too quickly. How Better Place plans to revive the electric car - CNET Australia… Read more

Cellulosic ethanol could compete with gas, study says

The U.S. can replace one-third of its annual gasoline use with ethanol by 2030, concludes a joint study released Wednesday by Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors.

Of the 90 billion gallons of ethanol that need to be produced in 2030 to meet that goal, the study says, 75 billion gallons could come from cellulosic ethanol.

Using cellulosic ethanol--or ethanol produced from forestry or agricultural waste--is considered a way to prevent the displacement of crops that feed humans.

Corn-based ethanol has been blamed by some for higher food prices and shortages because food producers are at times forced … Read more

Brewer to turn beer suds into car fuel

The inventor of the EFuel100 MicroFueler home ethanol maker has signed on Sierra Nevada Brewing to make ethanol from beer dregs.

E-Fuel on Tuesday said that the beer company will start testing EFuel's refrigerator-sized portable ethanol refineries in the second quarter of this year using discarded beer yeast as a feedstock for ethanol.

E-Fuel last year unveiled its $9,995 home ethanol machine which ferments a mix of water and sugar into ethanol. Ethanol is mixed into gasoline at 10 percent. Flex-fuel cars can run on E85, an 85 percent blend of ethanol and gasoline.

Sierra Nevada every year … Read more

Toyota recalls 1.4 million cars

Toyota Motor plans to recall 1.4 million cars throughout the world for minor defects.

About 830,000 cars in Europe, North America, and other regions are being recalled, and another 536,000 in Japan. The defective models include the Yaris (called the Vitz in Japan), Belta, and Ractis models built between January 2005 and April 2008.

The recall concerns the tensioner on seat belts that may melt or catch fire in some collision situations. On some models, there's also concern that the exhaust pipe will crack under extreme heat.

An official safety recall with the National Highway Traffic … Read more

Ethanol firms clear deals for non-food feedstocks

Two companies trying to lay claim to having the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in the U.S. have secured financing to get closer to that goal.

Range Fuels on Monday said that it expects to receive an $80 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build an ethanol plant in Soperton, Ga.

The plant, which will use wood chips from neighborhood pine forests as feedstock, is on track to begin producing next year.

Range Fuels uses a thermo-chemical process called gasification where chips are converted into a synthetic gas and then made into ethanol.

Another … Read more

Termite stomach bug to make ethanol

ZeaChem, a company that uses the microbes in termite guts to make ethanol, said on Thursday it has raised $34 million to build its first plant.

The biorefinery, which could be located in Boardman, Ore., will begin operating next year, making 1.5 million gallons of ethanol a year from a non-food feedstock, such as wood chips or grasses, according to ZeaChem CEO James Imbler.

Investors in the series B round were Globespan Capital Partners and PrairieGold Venture Partners, with follow-on participation from MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures, Firelake Capital, and oil refiner Valero Energy.

There are a number of research initiatives … Read more

Slowing expectations at a green-tech start-up

Editor's note: This is part of a series of stories about the recession's effect on the tech industry.

On paper, things couldn't be much better for Bruce Jamerson. As CEO of Mascoma, he runs an ethanol company staffed by brilliant scientists, wooed by state governors, and amply funded by General Motors and leading green-tech venture capital firms.

But late last month, he made the painful decision to shed staff in an effort to control costs. Even though Mascoma's a private company, there is no escaping the trickle-down effect of the skidding stock market.

"Because we'… Read more