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BY Tali Aaron : February 22

Running your Car on Corn Cobs may become reality: Danish Firms closer to Cellulosic Ethanol

corn cobs for cellulosic ethanol


Now that we're all used to the idea that after some distillation you can run a car on corn, a pair of Danish firms have made progress toward the next step: running a car on corn cobs. This is very important if you favor putting corn into starving people rather than gas tanks. In 2007, U.N. Expert Jean Ziegler got concerned enough to call biofuels a "crime against humanity," and nobody wants to solve energy problems only to cause a famine.

Enter cellulosic ethanol, or ethanol created by breaking down agricultural waste--like corn cobs. Danisco says its Genencor division has developed the enzymes to create cellulosic ethanol in a product called Accelerase Duet, and rival company Novozyme is right behind.  Meanwhile, the American firm Poet is building a 25-million-gallons-per-year plant to make cellulosic ethanol using corn cobs as raw material.

Cellulosic ethanol at the pump is still one to two years away, but the future is bright. President Obama called this week for a tripling of U.S. ethanol production from 12 billion gallons per year to 36 billion by 2022.

College fraternities have not (yet) protested the potential effect on the world's grain alcohol supply.

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Posted in: Alternative Energy, Biofuel, Environment, Policies Regulations
Tags: sustainable (380)   Green (549)   cellulosic ethanol (3)   eco-friendly (233)   corn-based ethanol (3)   etanol selulosa (3)   fuel (23)   renewable energy (502)   Green Energy (80)   Environment (308)   cleantech (324)   
Last Modified: February 22, 2010 at 1:52 pm
First Published: February 20, 2010 at 7:00 am

15 Responses to Running your Car on Corn Cobs may become reality: Danish Firms closer to Cellulosic Ethanol

  2. JimmyRambing on September 19, 2012 at 9:42 am


    "Running your Car on Corn Cobs may become reality: Danish Firms... http://t.co/iBx4Ylwh #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy"

    Reply
  3. buildaroo on September 19, 2012 at 9:40 am


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  4. buildaroo on October 13, 2011 at 12:00 am


    Running your Car on Corn Cobs may become reality: Danish Firms... http://t.co/y0yL4qY6 #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

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  5. buildaroo on June 13, 2011 at 4:28 am


    Running your Car on Corn Cobs may become reality: Danish Firms... http://bit.ly/9DrJJa #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

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  6. buildaroo on February 18, 2011 at 7:02 am


    Running your Car on Corn Cobs may become reality: Danish Firms... http://bit.ly/9DrJJa #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

    Reply
  7. Alex Hartley on January 29, 2011 at 12:26 pm


    RT @cleangreenpro: Running your Car on Corn Cobs may become reality: Danish Firms... http://bit.ly/9DrJJa #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding ...

    Reply
  8. Cellulosic Biofuel from Poet Energy by 2012 « Alternative Energy « buildaroo.com on April 14, 2010 at 2:07 pm


    [...] it expensive to produce. Poet Energy, a key maker of corn ethanol, has been pursuing research on cellulosic biofuels. They believe that the more cost effective product could be available as early as [...]

    Reply
  9. Diesel Cars help US Audi sales surge&nbsp- buildaroo.com on March 8, 2010 at 2:13 pm


    [...] Clean diesel is having an impact on overall sales for Audi, leading to an early year surge in sales. With clean diesel, TDI models of the Q7 and A3 leading the way, Audi will likely look for further success with clean diesel technology in coming months. As car and SUV sales rebound, it is becoming apparent that more people are looking for alternative and green fuel options. [...]

    Reply
  10. The Poplar Tree – A Popular Choice for Biofuel&nbsp- buildaroo.com on March 4, 2010 at 6:02 am


    [...] barrier to using trees to produce biofuel is developing a cost-effective way to break down cellulose. Fortunately, scientists are well on their way towards solving this puzzle. Another barrier is the [...]

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  11. Tobacco Enzymes can turn Non-Edible Food Waste into Biofuel&nbsp- buildaroo.com on March 4, 2010 at 12:02 am


    [...] waste, such as orange peels. This method of ethanol production will emit less greenhouse gases than production using corn bi-products, and it also has the potential to generate income for an ailing tobacco industry and currently [...]

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  12. Pentagon Raises Standards, Enlists Algae for Biofuel&nbsp- buildaroo.com on February 22, 2010 at 1:37 pm


    [...] from fossil fuels may leave the armed forces with a good deal less to do.Other biofuel technologies:Cellulosic Ethanol from Corn CobsBiofuel from Photosynthetic Micro-organismsBiofuel from City WasteSugarcane based EthanolTobacco as [...]

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  13. algaebiofuels on February 21, 2010 at 9:39 pm


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  14. caterina on February 21, 2010 at 9:23 pm


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  15. algaebiofuels on February 21, 2010 at 6:36 pm


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  16. algaebiofuels on February 20, 2010 at 9:23 pm


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