CELLUSIC ETHANOL

Cellusic Ethanol

Cellusic Ethanol

Under the Kyoto Protocol, the Government of Canada has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 6% from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Ethanol -blended gasolines have the potential to contribute significantly to these emissions reductions. Ethanol is an alternative fuel derived from biologically renewable resources and can be employed to replace octane enhancers such as methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) and aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene or oxygenates such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). A potential source for low-cost ethanol production is to utilize lignocellulosic materials (crop residues, grasses, sawdust, woodchips, sludges, livestock manure), but the feasibility of using these materials as a feedstock is often limited by the cost of bio- ethanol production, which is relatively high based on current technologies. The challenges are generally associated with the low yield and the high cost of the hydrolysis process. Research involving bio- ethanol production from lignocellulosic waste materials have included crop residues (Kim and Dale, 2004, Cuzens and Miller, 1997, Zayed and Meyer, 1996 and Rivers and Emert, 1988), municipal solid waste (Mtui and Nakamura, 2005, Lark et al., 1997, Green and Shelef, 1989 and Green et al., 1988), forest products industry wastes (Kadar et al., 2004, Fan et al., 2003 and Duff and Murray, 1996), leaf and yard waste (Lissens et al., 2004), municipal sludges (Cheung and Anderson, 1997), as well as a few studies involving dairy and cattle manures (Wen et al., 2004, Chen et al., 2003 and Chen et al., 2004). The current bio- ethanol production industry in Canada from lignocellulosic materials is comprised of only a few small-scale plants, producing ethanol mainly from agricultural crops as feedstock materials. Iogen Corporation has developed a demonstration plant for the conversion of wood, hay, straw and other agricultural crop residuals to ethanol. Other ethanol production plants currently in operation in Canada include: Mohawk Oil Canada Ltd. (wheat-based), Pound-Maker Agventures Ltd. (wheat-based), Commercial Alcohols Inc (corn-based), API Grain Processors (wheat-based), Tembec (forestry product-based).

In recent years, the highly unstable global energy market, as well as large increases in oil and natural gas prices has led Canada and other countries to assess future fuel developments and explore alternatives to fossil fuels. With the abundance of biomass in Canada, considerable bio-fuel opportunities are expected to emerge in the near future, particularly in the physical, chemical and thermal conversion of primary and residual biomass to bio-based energy and industrial products (Industry Canada, 2005).

In 1995, Dinel and Dumontet (1995) introduced a concept of sustainable waste management termed Biological and Chemical Integrated Recycling System using solid organic waste (SOW) material feedstocks. They proposed a series of possible extraction and fractionation procedures which would allow for the recovery of a number of value-added products, including cellulose, from various lignocellulosic waste streams. Crop residues, livestock manures, and sludges and biosolids contain large quantities of lignocelluloses, polysaccharides, proteins and other organic materials. The conversion of these materials to value-added products has been recognized as an attractive waste management ...