zeachem

Microbes to start making ethanol, chemicals

Start-up ZeaChem has begun construction of a plant to convert wood chips into ethanol and specialty chemicals, a small step forward for the long-awaited cellulosic ethanol industry.

The Lakewood, Colo.-based company said that the plant will be in Oregon and produce about 250,000 gallons of ethanol a year. That's far less than it originally projected but still at a size that will allow the company to scale up to a commercial-size facility in 2011, said ZeaChem CEO James Imbler on Friday.

A few years ago, lots of venture capital money flowed to companies with processes to make … 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

Coskata CEO explains how to get to $1 a gallon ethanol

Nearly every cellulosic ethanol company claims it will be able to produce fuel at $1 or less a gallon in a few years. William Roe, CEO of Coskata, in a meeting on Monday explained how his Warrenville, Ill., company will do it.

It's one of the more interesting processes out there, because it combines both biological (i.e., microbes) and thermochemical (heat and chemicals) processing. Menlo Park, Calif.-based ZeaChem is also taking a mixed approach, but it combines thermochemical and biological processes in a different manner. Most other companies are using primarily chemical or biological processes. We don'… Read more

Is vinegar the secret ingredient for biofuels?

To make ethanol, you want to make vinegar first, according to ZeaChem.

The biofuel start-up, which has moved from Colorado to Silicon Valley, says it has come up with a method of making cellulosic ethanol that results in close to 40 percent more fuel per ton of wood chips than competing processes. By 2010 or so, the company hopes to be producing ethanol commercially for 80 cents a gallon at wholesale. That could translate to anywhere from $1.10 to $1.50 at the pump, depending on a host of factors.

How does it work? Most cellulosic ethanol producers convert … Read more