Mascoma produces ethanol from cellulose in single step

Mascoma Corp., a biofuels research company located in Lebanon, N.H., has announced major advances in its quest to produce biofuel from cellulose.

Research with a bacterium that grows at high temperatures and certain strains of yeast that can metabolize cellulose has resulted in a high yield of ethanol in one step, the company said.

The process avoids having to add enzymes to help bacteria and yeast break down plant material, achieving significant cost savings.


“These advances enable the reduction in operating and capital costs required for cost-effective commercial production of ethanol, bringing Mascoma substantially closer to commercialization,” said Jim Flatt, executive vice president of research, development and operations at Mascoma. ”Our results go a long way toward establishing the feasibility of the processing concept that we have built our company around.”

In February, Mascoma began producing cellulosic ethanol at its pilot facility in Rome, N.Y., using a number of difference biomass feedstocks, including wood chips, tall grasses, residual corn stalks and sugar cane bagasse. — CINDY KIBBE/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW

source: nhbr