Much-touted cellulosic ethanol from plant waste remains a long way from commercial production reality.
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"To get the big numbers, you're going to have to bring on cellulosic ethanol, " he says.
The United States actually had two commercial cellulosic ethanol plants in operation by 1920.
At very best, solar, wind and cellulosic ethanol will make 20% contributions by 2025.
ZeaChem was founded to produce both cellulosic ethanol and bio-based acetate and acetic acid.
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This mandate was issued despite the fact that there were no commercial cellulosic ethanol plants in operation.
While next-generation biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, are struggling to come of age, corn ethanol is well-established.
You could make cellulosic ethanol with a tenth as much fossil fuel, according to Dartmouth researcher Lee Lynd.
The firm has put money into a handful of next-generation cellulosic ethanol companies.
It also takes biodiesel, biofuel, cellulosic ethanol, nuclear power, more drilling in ANWR.
The fuel is called cellulosic ethanol and it's a favorite alternative to gasoline.
Cellulosic ethanol is still made in small quantities and a number of once-ambitious startups have gone out of business.
The cellulosic ethanol industry produced zero gallons in 2011 and zero in 2012.
Now, it is true that solar and maybe cellulosic ethanol have the potential of making bigger technological leaps than traditional sources.
He also sees cellulosic ethanol as a strong technology for the future.
Right now, though, there's only one factory that's actually making cellulosic ethanol.
Cellulosic ethanol uses non-food feed stocks with significant greenhouse gas emission reductions, and the first commercial-scale plant is being built today in Soperton, Ga.
It is clear that corn ethanol has served as a stepping stone for cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels, mitigating risk and establishing a market.
It will help construct a refinery to convert 600, 000 tons of energy grasses per year into an estimated 20 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol.
Beer contains about the ethanol concentration that is achieved when cellulosic ethanol is produced (and in many cases, beer has a higher alcohol concentration).
Charles Wyman, a professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside, said the sources of cellulosic ethanol are more widely available.
McCarthy would not disclose what a cellulosic ethanol extension will cost.
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Circuit Court of Appeals found that the EPA had abused the law with "an unreasonable exercise of agency discretion, " and it vacated the 2012 cellulosic ethanol mandate.
Advanced bio-fuel centers, which can take landfill waste and wood chips to make cellulosic ethanol, are also part of that universe and are attracting enthusiasts and naysayers alike.
Consider cellulosic ethanol, arguably the most hyped of all biofuels.
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Right now cellulosic ethanol is potentially eight times more energy-efficient than corn-based ethanol, because you eliminate the middle step of converting it into sugar before you convert it into ethanol.
Fewer than eight million gallons of cellulosic ethanol were produced in 2012, E85 pumps are rare (most blends are 10% or 15%), and ethanol is rarely mentioned at the auto show.
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Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) coauthored a paper advocating cellulosic ethanol.
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Moreover those advanced cellulosic ethanol blends will get commercialized.
Meanwhile, a breakthrough in cellulosic ethanol will come "sooner than you think, " asserts Martin Lagod, a venture capitalist with Firelake Capital Management, which has invested in a range of alternative energy projects.
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