China committed to develop and
commercialize greener biofuel
from cellulosic ethanol
By Judith A. Cherni
China has recently announced its considerable commitment to promote the production of ethanol from cellulose, despite of not being a world leader in ethanol production – like USA and Brazil.
The idea of producing ethanol from cellulose is not new. In fact, companies and governments have spurred research and development into this technology for some time. Two features make cellulosic ethanol particularly attractive. One is that it promises to produce biofuel without the need to compete with growing food crops. The other is the forecasted large market for its future commercialization.
The government of China pledged to mandate favourable policies that will lead to an early commercialization of cellulosic ethanol. In an interview with China Daily, Yue Guojun, assistant president of the China Cofco Group, the leader company attempting to develop the technology in China, anticipates that ethanol fuel made from crops is merely transitional as its market will fall after cellulosic ethanol will be manufactured on a commercial basis. China’s Cofco has teamed up with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) and Denish enzymes producer Novozymes to build a demonstration plant. Cofco expects to start selling cellulosic ethanol in the next few years.
Cellulosic ethanol differs from conventional ethanol in that it uses the non-edible part of plants or agricultural waste to make fuel. According to scientists, cellulosic ethanol is mostly made from musty and decayed grains which are otherwise inedible. In contrast to the valid and widespread reaction prompted by the generation of biofuels from food crops, environmentalists have given their backing to cellulosic ethanol because it is apparently five times better in terms of its net energy balance than corn-based ethanol, can be produced with fast-growing grasses, such as switchgrass, that absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. Another advantage is that cellulosic ethanol plants will be able to run their energy-intensive boilers on the plant waste from their own processes (corn ethanol plants use natural gas).
Like hydrogen, says Jim Montavalli, author of Forward Drive: The Race to Build Clean Cars for the Future, cellulosic ethanol has been tomorrow’s technology breakthrough for decades. But, until recently, this form of biofuel has been recluded in research labs and demonstration plants.
Indeed, there is still work to do before the entire cellulosic ethanol process is clear from hurdles. Research conducted on the potential of wheat straw residue in particular concluded that, despite the boosted overall output that could be obtained from this crop there are still difficulties to keeping the process free from other complications such as bacterial infections.
Moreover, the sticking point with cellulosic ethanol has been finding a dependable enzyme that can break down raw materials (everything from fast-growing grasses to sawdust) into the sugars that make ethanol (and possibly gasoline and diesel fuel, too). This is, after all, a manufacturing process that, like making beer, is dependent on natural processes.
The company Novozymes could apparently produce enough enzyme (called Cellic Ctec2) to significantly reduce the cost of biofuel gallon. A year ago that cost was $1, and three years ago it was as high as $3, and 20 to 25 percent of cellulosic ethanol production costs are due to the enzymes. China’s association with Novozymes to build a cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant could therefore not be more timely. But, even if and when the technology has been sufficiently demonstrated and put in practice, China may still need to answer criticism for using grain to fuel its ever-growing fleet of vehicles - especially at a time when the nation’s grain yields are falling.
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