Shell Shifts its Research Towards Sugarcane Ethanol
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, after ending an algae project in Hawaii, is now shifting research to waste from sugarcane. In January, Shell exited its Cellana algae biofuel research joint venture in Hawaii that was formed in 2007 with algae biofuels company HR Bio Petroleum. Shell, Iogen Corp. and Codexis have been researching enzymes to produce cellulose ethanol from wheat stalks and sugar-cane bagasse, a sugar industry waste product.
The company has set up a US$ 12 billion venture with Cosan SA Industria & Comercio to produce and market traditional sugarcane ethanol in Brazil, where it’s used to fuel cars.
Shell and Cosan, which controls the world’s largest sugarcane processor, last year agreed to combine ethanol-making and fuel distribution assets in Brazil. The cellulosic ethanol technology will let Shell and Cosan further grow fuel output in Brazil. The partners need to scale the process to a pilot project from a demonstration plant to see if it works and that may take as long as five years. If successful, industrial-scale production may start by the end of the decade, according to Shell.
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