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In 2014 Clariant's Group Biotechnology will present a commercial scale technology of second generation bioethanol production

In the recent years second generation bioethanol has become increasingly important on the biofuel market. In comparison with first generation bioethanol it is produced from non-food products and has a greater degree of environmental friendliness. Thus, bioethaol from cellulosic materials reduces greenhouse gas emission by 95%.  Moreover, this type of biofuel allows to increase the production volume and to reduce production costs.

In particular, since July 2012 a demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol production plant, which belongs to Clariant's Group Biotechnology, has been operating in Straubing, Germany. The plant with a production capacity of 1000 tons of ethanol processes around 4 500 tons of lignocellulosic materials a year. As raw materials the plant uses mainly wheat and cereal straws or corn stover or sugar cane bagasse. The cost of the project amounted to € 28 million ($ 35 million).

Using the results of the Germany’s bioethanol facility, Clariant has worked out a commercial scale technology of processing agricultural feedstock to second generation bioethanol. The technological blueprint provides a commercial scale plant with the production capacity of 50 000 – 150 000 tons of ethanol a year.

According to Clariant’s business development manager Clemens Heikaus the main technical hurdle in the past has been how to access the sugars bound in the lignocellulosic material, i.e. how to generate this energy from biomass. In recent years this technological breakthrough has been achieved, using proprietary feedstock and process specific enzymes. Integration of the enzyme production facility on site also reduces the bioethanol production cost as it eliminates the need for transport of the enzymes.

Herewith, Clariant reports that second generation bioethanol allows to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% in Europe by 2050. Moreover, the production cost can compete with the first-generation bioethanol.

Interestingly, bioethanol can be used as fuel blend or in pure form (E100) for motor engines. Demand for climate-friendly second generation biofuels is increasing with the support from the US and European Union legislative framework. The EU has the target to utilise of a minimum of ten percent renewable energy sources for the transportation sector by 2020 and thereby to reduce the greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere by 20%.

Author: Ivan Prokhorov

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