Thursday, June 02, 2011

Pelletizing biomass for cellulosic ethanol feedstock?

Delivery and handling of bulky feedstock is one of the big barriers to commercial scale cellulosic ethanol production. Pelletizing might solve some of these problems, since the pellets could be handled much the way grain is currently handled. It remains to be seen whether the technology will turn out these pellets at a cost low enough to compete with corn kernels, especially since the biomass would need to be moved twice--first to the pelletizing plant, and then to the biofuel refinery. Pellets might also be useful for co-firing with coal at power plants, reducing output of pollutants.
Ethanol Producer Magazine | EthanolProducer.com: "The pellets can be used to co-fire industrial boilers, but they can also be used as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production, according to Russ Zeeck, chief operating officer of Pellet Technology."