Zeachem’s Cellulosic Ethanol Process Ready To Leave The Lab, Enter Pilot Testing
In less than a year, cellulosic ethanol startup ZeaChem has raced through preliminary pilot testing in a tiny Silicon Valley pilot plant, and now plans to build a larger facility in Oregon.
Experts consider cellulosic ethanol one of the most promising technologies for helping to reduce global warming, but the technology is still unproven, and there’s a race on to be first to commercial production. The challenge is to make it cost-competitive with oil.
We first mentioned ZeaChem just a few months ago, when the company received an initial $6 million venture investment.
ZeaChem’s patented process is distinct. Whereas most methods seek to reduce cellulosic biomass like wood or grass into either a gas or liquid, ZeaChem does both. It does that by first separating biomass into its constituent parts — cellulose and lignin. The company also uses an organism taken from a termite’s stomach to more efficiently break down the biomass.The upshot is a 50 percent higher yield over competing methods, says Dan Verser, ZeaChem’s vice president of research and development. Getting more fuel out of less material will help the company eventually make ethanol for less than $1 per gallon, if it’s able to scale production up.
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