Who invented cellulosic ethanol

The process is shorter for starch- or sugar-based feedstocks than with cellulosic feedstocks. Most ethanol in the United States is produced from starch-based crops by dry- or wet-mill processing.

Dry-milling is a process that grinds corn into flour and ferments it into ethanol with co-products of distillers grains and carbon dioxide. Wet-mill plants primarily produce corn sweeteners, along with ethanol and several other co-products such as corn oil and starch.

Wet mills separate starch, protein, and fiber in corn prior to processing these components into products, such as ethanol. Making ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks—such as grass, wood, and crop residues—is a more involved process than using starch-based crops.

There are two primary pathways to produce cellulosic ethanol: biochemical and thermochemical. Info Share. References Bevill, K. Filed under: Ethanol. Feel free to use and share this content, but please do so under the conditions of our Creative Commons license and our Rules for Use.

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Fermentation is the most common method for producing fuel ethanol The most common ethanol production processes today use yeast to ferment the starch and sugars in corn, sugar cane, and sugar beets. Model T car Source: Stock photography copyrighted. Learn more Monthly Energy Review, Table Also on Energy Explained U. Frequently asked questions How much ethanol is in gasoline, and how does it affect fuel economy?

Thermochemical — biomass is converted by pyrolysis, gasification, or liquefaction into gaseous and liquid chemical "building blocks. It is recombined through catalytic processes into a variety of fuels and chemicals. Researchers have been working on breaking down cell walls for many years. There still is no quick or efficient way to break down the cell walls using biological pathways.

The cost for producing ethanol from plant material is more expensive than ethanol produced from corn. In January , the first cellulosic ethanol plant in the United States began production. Time will be the judge of its success. Today, researchers believe that it will be 10 years before the U. Every week you can find a news article about the latest discovery. The researchers must test it at varying scales and production processes to make sure it works. They look at the efficiency at the commercial scale.