In a key test of a second-generation biofuel, ZeaChem is reporting Tuesday that it has proven popular trees can be turned into commercial quantities of ethanol.
ZeaChem proved that it can ferment wood from popular trees into acetic acid, the building block for making ethanol
The Colorado company said three large-scale trials it concluded in January yielded acceptable levels of acetic acid, the fundamental building block for biofuel or specialty chemicals. A commercial scale plant is on target for completion by the end of the year.
The test was the first of a technology that up to now has only been demonstrated in the lab. For that reason, it is another important indication that second-generation biofuels – those made from sources other than food crops – can be produced economically in quantities sufficient enough to impact gasoline demand.
“Our confidence is huge that we can go to the next step,” said Jim Imbler, ZeaChem CEO. “Nobody has scaled this up to this size before.”
ZeaChem’s technology calls for wood from poplar trees to be broken down and fermented using bacteria found in termites and the digestive tracks of horses and goats. It is particularly efficiency because it produces no CO2 and therefore doubles the output of useful, fuel-producing carbon.
The company conducted three separate trials of its process and generated concentrations of acetic acid each time that exceeded 50 grams a liter, a significant milestone, said Imbler. The tests were conducted in a 1,500-gallon tank and took less than 100 hours.
The next step is a 250,000-gallon plant in Boardman, OR. ZeaChem won a $25 million Energy Department grant for the construction of the project.
