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.

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That is one reason why in April Metsa-Botnia, a Finnish company, began building a cellulose plant on the Uruguay River bordering Argentina.

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The technique works by focusing high-powered microwaves on plant-based material, transforming the tough cellulose molecules of the plant matter into volatile gases.

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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%.

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To be fermented, cellulose must first be broken away from a plant stiffener called lignin.

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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.

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Suffice to say you eat cellulose every time you eat a salad or fruit, or any other plant-derived food.

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Current cellulose based plastics include large amounts of petroleum-based additives, which results in a low plant component ratio.

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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.

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