Biofuels/Biomass

Ethanol from Cellulose

The limited availability of biomaterials for ethanol production has spurred interest in converting cellulose into ethanol.

	Cellulose is the material found in virtually all plants, and makes up the woody substance, the stiffness in grasses, and provides structure to plants in general. People cannot digest cellulose, so it is not food.
	Cellulose is made up of long chains of sugar molecules. There are some processes available to separate those sugars so that the sugars can then be converted to ethanol.

 

Environmental Cost The problem is that conversion processes are both energy-intensive and expensive. Scientists are conducting research to find more efficient ways of breaking down cellulose to produce fuel from rapidly growing plants such as switchgrass.

DID YOU KNOW? Some crops can serve a dual purpose in biofuel production. Certain plants can be squeezed to provide oil for biodiesel and then the fibers that remain can be used for cellulosic ethanol.