Breakthroughs, Inventions, Discoveries & Pioneering Efforts in the Field of Ethanol Fuel

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Ethanol Fuel

Ethanol Fuel - Inventions, Research, Innovations, Breakthrough

1. Ethanol Research Breakthrough: Wood Feedstock - Corn is the usual feedstock for producing ethanol in the U.S, but wood could open up the growing market to states outside of the Midwest. Researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) say they have invented a method for removing energy-rich sugars from wood, a process that could help develop agricultural feedstocks for ethanol production, and increase profits for New York's and other states' pulp and paper industries. - Energy Bulletin, Feb 2005
2. 40-year Old Discovery May Hold Key to Cellulosic Ethanol Production - About 40 years ago, Iowa State Chemistry professor John Verkade based his doctoral dissertation on a chemical compound, and only realized a few years ago that it may very well hold the key to breaking down the Cellulose that forms the structure of a plant's cell walls. Read more from the Nov 2006 article on Auto Blog Green
3. Bioengineered Yeast Tolerates Higher Ethanol For Biomass Energy Use - Some MIT researchers have developed a yeast strain that can continue to produce ethanol up to a much higher concentration of ethanol. The work by MIT chemical-engineering professor Gregory Stephanopoulos and his colleagues focuses on the second part of this process: fermenting sugars to make ethanol. The yeast strain they made can tolerate ethanol concentrations as high as 18 percent--almost double the concentration that regular yeast can handle without quickly dying. In addition, the new strain makes about 20 percent more ethanol by processing more of the glucose, and it speeds up Fermentation by 70 percent - A December 2006 article from Future Pundit
4. Creating Ethanol from Trash - Researchers find a way to make liquid fuels from waste cheaply and without the pollution produced by earlier methods. By Kevin Bullis @ Technology Review, Jan 2007 - A new system for converting trash into ethanol and methanol could help reduce the amount of waste piling up in landfills while displacing a large fraction of the fossil fuels used to power vehicles in the United States. The technology, developed originally by researchers at MIT and at Batelle Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL), in Richland, WA, doesn't incinerate refuse, so it doesn't produce the pollutants that have historically plagued efforts to convert waste into energy. Instead, the technology vaporizes organic materials to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide, a mixture called synthesis gas, or syngas, that can be used to synthesize a wide variety of fuels and chemicals. Read more from the Technology Review article
5. New Technology Converts Municipal Waste into Ethanol - A new conversion technology takes organic waste items and turns them into usable fuel. This process to create ethanol can be used not only for municipal waste, but also agricultural biomass waste. The technology vaporizes organic material, releasing a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. These gases are synthesised and converted to ethanol and methanol. The originators of this technology are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Batelle Pacific Northwest National Labs. Read more from this Jan 2007 article in News Target
   

6. New Technology Uses Cellulosic Biomass to Produce Ethanol - Sep 2006 - RITE and Honda are pursuing methods for mass production. Ethanol production from soft-biomass -- including inedible leaves and plant stalks such as rice straw -- has entered into the mass production phase of research at the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE) and Honda R&D Co., a subsidiary of Honda Motor responsible for research and development. The new technology uses RITE strain, a microorganism developed by RITE that converts sugar into alcohol. See the full article from this Renewable Energy Access report
7. Mesquite to Ethanol Machine - Mesquite is a deciduous tree commonly found in Northern Mexico and the United States. A new technology promises to convert mesquite into ethanol fuel, which can then be used to power farm equipment and vehicles. See the report from Alternative Energy News
8. Bugs Providing Breakthrough Technology for Cellulosic Ethanol Production - Enzymes Produced in Microbes and Termite Guts Accelerate the Production of Biofuels - See more about the Diversa Process from here (PDF)
9. Ethanol Fuel cell Technology - Ethanol is the perfect fuel for Fuel Cells - The ideal fuel cell would use ethanol instead of natural gas. Over the past several years, Arthur D. Little, with support from the Illinois Corn Marketing Board and other organizations, has developed a fuel processor that allows fuel cell powerplants to operate on ethanol. Fuel cell applications are particularly desirable for ethanol, says this article. Read more here.
10. Biorefinery Breakthrough - No one has ever brewed Biofuel from straw on a commercial scale. With Shell's backing, Iogen is likely to be the first - By Stuart Brown, CNN / Fortune, February, 2006 - Iogen has started a big science project aimed at learning how to make alcohol on a commercial scale from nonfood biomass like straw. Some of the key steps used are enzymatic hydrolysis, enzyme conversion of the cellulose part of the straw into sugars - More from this CNN / Fortune report
    

Pictures

A pic of how ethanol is made

Ethanol production technology 

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