What is Cellulosic ethanol?
Cellulosic ethanol is a type of biofuel (alcohol) produced from lignocellulose which comprises much of the mass of plants such as wood, bagasse and grass. Lignocellulose is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Today, ethanol is used as a liquid fuel in motor vehicles. While most ethanol are produced from corn starch and sugarcane (which are food) as the two main feedstocks, cellulosic ethanol uses non-food plants as feedstocks.
Why us?
Our company focus is to introduce cellulosic ethanol technology into the country without “invading” the food industry which could cause prices for food to increase in long run. One of our company goals is also to help farmers increase their income by purchasing the plant waste such as bagasse from them which otherwise treated as waste.
Advantages of ethanol as fuel
Ethanol is cleaner in terms of emissions than gasoline manufactured out of crude oil. The domestic production of ethanol improves the energy supply during potential oil crises and reduces the dependency on oil-related fuels. The manufacturing of bioethanol increases the wealth at the countryside and also contributes to the economy of the country as a whole.
According to studies made by the University of Eastern-Finland, the carbon balance of the contemplated bioethanol plant is 60% less than the one of fossil gasoline, considering the modern agriculture and the usage of wood chips in the steam energy production.
Mixing bioethanol with petrol does not affect the car engines and does not noticeably increase the fuel consumption. Currently, even a mixing ratio of 10% is possible. The new mix ratio can be used with the existing cars without problems. Many car manufacturers are also introducing new FlexiFuel cars, which can run almost entirely on ethanol (E85).