[Stoves] Cellulosic Ethanol a dead end

[adkarve]

Dear Tom,
good to hear the voice of sanity again. Whenever I voice the same views here
in India, I am always told of a new process having been developed by
somebody or other for making ethanol from cellulose. Cellulose is the most
abundantly available natural organic substance in the world, so it is very
tempting if it can be converted into ethanol.  I had known about the
difficulties in producing ethanol from cellulose since long ago, namely that
cellulolytic microbes do not produce free glucose for other microbes to use.
I therefore advocate that ligno-cellulose should either be burned to produce
heat or be used for producing methane instead. We are working on a biogas
plant that produces methane from green leaves. As raw material we want to
use green leafy biomass generated daily by urban vegetable markets.
Alternatively, one can use dedicated fields that produce the necessary leafy
biomass. We are also trying to develop a biogas plant for producing methane
from dry agricultural waste, like straw of wheat or rice, sugarcane leaves,
etc.
Yours
A.D.Karve
----- Original Message -----
From: Thomas Reed <tombreed at comcast.net>
To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification
<gasification at listserv.repp.org>; <STOVES at LISTSERV.REPP.ORG>; Bob Weldon
<bobkarlaweldon at cs.com>; Scott Weldon <scott at sundial.com>; GASIFICATION
<GASIFICATION at listserv.repp.org>; <BIOENERGY at LISTSERV.REPP.ORG>
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 7:18 PM
Subject: [Stoves] Cellulosic Ethanol a dead end


Dear All:

If you think converting the 70% starch in corn into sugar and then into
ethanol is inefficient, (MAYBE 35% more energy out than in) just try
stripping the lignin out of cellulosic materials as a hurdle.  Dozens of
companies (since the first in 1918) have claimed to have the process
"now commercial", sold stock, then quietly tiptoed away.  Mother Nature
designed starch to be converted to sugar.  She designed cellulose NOT to
be converted into sugar.  Given enough subsidies it can be commercial
today, but so could many other processes with higher payback.

TOM REED        BEF