Thread Content
A review published by the U.S.-based website Technology Review in late December 2007 argued that commercial-scale cellulose ethanol plants were under construction, but the cost of the fuel produced there was still not competitive with that of grain ethanol. The first commercial-scale ethanol plant in the United States to produce ethanol from cellulose biomass has been put into operation in Broomfield, Colorado; it uses wood chips and forage as raw materials. Its economic viability indicates that it will take several more years before it can compete with grain ethanol. Range Fuel Company’s facility is located in southeastern Georgia and will begin producing ethanol in 2008. The facility received $76 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy; it will initially produce 20 million gallons, with the capacity eventually increasing to 100 million gallons. According to Global Energy Network statistics, as of December 2007, the United States had produced over 5 billion gallons of ethanol from grain starch. However, producing ethanol from cellulose is an attractive option, as it requires only a small amount of fossil fuels for production, and biomass resources are abundant. However, producing cellulose ethanol is much more difficult than producing it from grain starch, and there are still certain economic issues. Range Fuel Company has developed a two-step thermochemical process for converting wood chips and other types of biomass into alcohols, including ethanol, methanol, propanol, and butanol. The first step is called gasification, during which biomass is converted into a mixture primarily composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, known as syngas, through heating, pressurization, and the addition of steam. It is then converted into alcohols using a catalyst. This process is similar to the Fischer-Tropsch process used in coal-to-oil production. The company’s portfolio utilizes new, proprietary catalysts as well as improved plant design and engineering to make the processes cost-effective. The device is also located near the wood chip supply source, which minimizes the costs associated with transporting biomass. Furthermore, the company will blend ethanol with gasoline for local sale, which can reduce transportation costs for biofuels. In early 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy funded the construction of 6 cellulose ethanol plants. The first unit is the 20 million gallons per year facility built by Range Fuel Company with $50 million in funding. It is estimated that the cost of a typical grain ethanol plant is around $2 per gallon; thus, a plant with a capacity of 20 million gallons per year would cost $40 million. The cost of the Range Fuel Company’s facility is twice that of conventional facilities, at 80 million dollars, with the U.S. Department of Energy providing most of the funding.