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Why Cellulosic Ethanol
Both conventional ethanol and cellulosic ethanol are biofuels, but conventional ethanol is produced using food crops such as corn, wheat, sugarcane and soybeans, and is processed by dry or wet milling.
Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel produced from agricultural wastes such as corn stover, sugarcane baggase, wood, grasses, and other non-edible parts of plants. It is produced from lignocelluloses, a structural material that comprises much of the mass of plants. Cellulosic ethanol is chemically identical to ethanol (C2H5OH) obtained from sugarcane molasses or starch in corn.
Conventional Ethanol vs. Cellulosic Ethanol
Cellulosic ethanol overcomes some of the problems presented by the first generation ethanol feedstock such as corn, maize etc.
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Aspect |
Conventional Ethanol |
Cellulosic Ethanol |
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Choice of Feedstock |
Feedstocks are agriculture plants like corn wheat, soybeans, sugarcane etc |
Feedstocks are agricultural plant wastes like corn stover, cereal straws, and sugarcane bagasse, plant wastes from industrial processes like sawdust, paper pulp as well as switchgrass. |
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Food vs Fuel |
Ethanol production carries the risk that food cropping will turn into more lucrative fuel-cropping |
Cellulosic ethanol production prevents the food vs fuel crises |
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Feedstock Availability |
The supply of raw material is scarce |
The supply of raw material is much higher than that for first generation ethanol |
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Fertilizer and Water Use |
High amounts of fertilizers and water essential for ethanol production |
The quantities of fertilizers and water required are not as high as those for feedstocks for first generation ethanol |
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Production Process |
Corn ethanol extraction from feedstock is simple and economic. |
Cellulosic ethanol extraction from feedstock is complex and less economic. |
The only disadvantage of cellulosic ethanol lies in the difficulty with which it is presently extracted; the feedstock sugars in cellulose and hemicellulose are bound in complex carbohydrates called polysaccharides, and separating these complex structures into simple sugars is not easy. This leads to longer process time, and low yield per unit of feedstock, making cellulosic ethanol somewhat less economical to produce than conventional ethanol currently.
Data provided in the above sections give a clear picture of how cellulosic ethanol differs from conventional ethanol. Steady improvements in processes and technology are expected to further enhance the potential of cellulosic ethanol in future.
Related Links:
- Ethanol as Biofuels
- What are feedstocks?
- Properties of Feedstocks for ethanol production
- Yield of Biomass for Various Feedstocks
- Feedstocks used by Various Companies
- Why Cellulosic Ethanol?
- Cellulosic Ethanol Production
- Cellulosic Ethanol Production Value Chain
- Ethanol production methods
- Latest Discoveries and Breakthroughs
- R & D Roadmap in Cellulosic Ethanol
- Future projections
- Companies Involved in Producing Cellulosic Ethanol
- Investments & Funding
- Challenges & Barriers in the commercialization process
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