Sludge Watch ==> Dartmouth professors discover ethanol breakthrough - $15 M plant

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin

It seems to be definitely true that making ethanol from corn is more of a 
handout to farmers than a really green solution to the energy problem. Why?  
Corn is a 'heavy hitter' crop that is very demanding of fertilizer and sucks 
nutrients out of the soil.  By the time the farmer plows and plants and 
fertilizes and harvests and processes the corn the resulting ethanol took up 
more resources than they deliver.

But other approaches are gaining favor.  With recycling paper mills churning 
out hundreds of thousands of tons of papermill sludge every day, the issue 
of other forms of biomass are still being researched.

This Dartmouth College is in the US, not in Nova Scotia.

For more information on biomass work there read: Running Your Engine Green
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dartfac/features/engine.html


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http://www.thedartmouth.com/article.php?aid=2007010401070


Two Dartmouth engineering professors discover fuel breakthrough
By Ashley Zuzek, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Thursday, January 4, 2007

Mascoma Corporation, a company started by Dartmouth engineering professors 
that develops low-cost, renewable fuels, recently received a $14.8 million 
grant from the state of New York to build a new processing plant near 
Rochester. Mascoma, founded in 2005 by Thayer School of Engineering 
professors Lee Lynd and Charles Wyman, will use the grant to demonstrate its 
ability to convert cellulose-based plant materials into ethanol.

Though regarded as a promising alternative to gasoline, ethanol is typically 
produced from corn, which is expensive to transport and available only in 
limited quantities. Mascoma's recent work, however, allows fuel to be 
produced from other materials.

To avoid the financial and logistical complications inherent in the 
production of ethanol from corn, a number of companies have begun to look 
into using cellulose-based plant materials as an alternative to corn. Making 
fuel from cellulosic plant material is more complicated than using corn, but 
Mascoma aims to simplify the profess.

Lynd and Wyman have spent many years researching cellulosic ethanol. The new 
plant in Rochester will build upon this research by using genetically 
enhanced microbes to convert plant material into ethanol. Unlike 
traditional, more expensive manufacturing processes, Mascoma's will depend 
on microorganisms that can digest the cellulose and ferment the resulting 
sugar in one step instead of the traditional two separate steps, cutting 
costs and boosting production.

The company wants to present ethanol as a viable alternative to other fuels.

"Our main focus is 'bottom-up' research focusing on breakthrough strategies 
for low-cost processing of cellulosic biomass to liquid transportation 
fuels," Lynd said.

"We also approach the subject of the sustainable resource transition from a 
'top-down' perspective, including considerations such as resource supply, 
forecasting of future technology, and envisioning sustainable energy 
futures."

Mascoma's new 15,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to open late 
2007 or early 2008, will produce roughly 500,000 gallons of biomass ethanol 
per year. The plant will use agricultural and forest products, including 
paper sludge, wood chips, corn stover, and switch grass as sources of raw 
energy.

Although the initial production of 500,000 gallons per year will be minute 
relative to the 150 billion gallons of petroleum that Americans consume 
annually, Lynd said that the company aims to lead the cellulosic biofuel 
industry with advanced technology and by expanding facilities.

Biofuels, besides having the potential to decrease dependency on fossil 
fuels, also release fewer tailpipe emissions than gas when added to car 
fuel.

"I believe that plant biomass has clear potential to become a major provider 
of energy services, and that transportation fuel is likely the highest 
priority use for biomass in this context," Lynd said. "However, this outcome 
will require societal changes as well as advanced technology."