The future is bright

Abstract

Substantial investment is occurring in conversion technologies and in determining the most economic, practical and cleanest technology for the production of cellulosic ethanol. Pilot plants are at the cutting edge of developments and have already successfully demonstrated the production of ethanol from feedstocks, such as agricultural waste, but the conversion of wood waste, particularly softwoods, continues to be more challenging. It is likely there will be no single preferred conversion technologies for the production of cellulosic ethanol, but rather technologies appropriate for specific feedstocks. Commercial realities are just as critical as technical considerations in the deployment and commercialization of these technologies. Commercial gaps that have been identified2 include the procurement of biomass at the quality and price needed, the selling price of the biofuels, difficulty in attracting investors and lenders, costly pilot trials, and compliance with regulations (e.g. National Environmental Policy Act in the US). Construction of the first large-scale demonstration facilities is well underway. The availability of financing, particularly the willingness of governments to share in the scale-up risks with private industry, will be critical to commercial-scale plants who are forging a new future for biofuels. Co-location and integration with existing infrastructure and facilities, such as pulp and paper mills, power plants and grain-ethanol plants, where various synergies can be achieved has many advantages over stand-alone plants, ppi.