-
Next the company converted the microbe to produce means to create ethanol fuel from plant cellulose, and following scale-up and cost problems, abandoned that dream to focus upon higher cost chemicals used in cosmetics.
FORBES: Al Gore's Oil-Fueled Al-Jazeera Deal Follows A String Of Green Energy Fiascos
-
That is one reason why in April Metsa-Botnia, a Finnish company, began building a cellulose plant on the Uruguay River bordering Argentina.
ECONOMIST: A battle over foreign investment
-
The technique works by focusing high-powered microwaves on plant-based material, transforming the tough cellulose molecules of the plant matter into volatile gases.
FORBES: Orange Peels Could Be Made Into Biodegradable Plastic
-
The use of cellulose and cardanol, both plant resources, as the plastic's primary components produces a plastic that features a high plant component ratio of more than 70%.
ENGADGET: NEC builds a better bioplastic from plant stems and cashew nut shells
-
To be fermented, cellulose must first be broken away from a plant stiffener called lignin.
FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas
-
They would be converted into glucose (of which cellulose, which makes up much of the dry weight of a plant, is a polymer) and the glucose would be shipped around much as oil is today, for eventual conversion into biofuels and bioplastics.
ECONOMIST: Face value
-
Suffice to say you eat cellulose every time you eat a salad or fruit, or any other plant-derived food.
FORBES: 6 Disgusting Things You're Eating (And You Don't Even Know It!)
-
Current cellulose based plastics include large amounts of petroleum-based additives, which results in a low plant component ratio.
ENGADGET: NEC builds a better bioplastic from plant stems and cashew nut shells
-
Cellulose fuel production would require a consistant base product so it would become necessary to secure massive amounts of plant fiber to ensure uninterrupted production.
FORBES: Breakthrough in Biofuels? Maybe.