The ChemPro Group LLC of Boonton, N.J., and Mo-Fuel (Rural Bio-waste) of Sikeston, Mo., have formed an alliance to commercialize a patented process
that will economically and efficiently produce ethanol from cellulose feedstocks. According to Steve Lavorerio, president of ChemPro, the process can handle a full spectrum of cellulosic feedstock, from wood chips and pulp-and-paper-plant byproducts to corn stover, rice straw, grass and even municipal waste.
“The process is unique,” said Ted Lewis, president and owner of Mo-Fuel and holder of the patent rights. “According to an independent study done by the Department of Energy, the process has the potential for considerable economic savings, as well as reducing the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil.”
“The process, which lends itself to modular construction, is also economical as an add-on to existing corn ethanol plants,” Lavorerio said. “It can process the low-value waste product with the potential to increase yields of ethanol by 15 percent and improve the value of byproducts by 50 percent.”
The technology, a continuous catalytic hydrolysis, produces a high conversion of biomass feedstock into fuel-grade ethanol and has a low residence time compared with other processes. The equipment required is compact, ideally suited for modularization so that plants can be located right at the source of feedstock. “ChemPro’s modular expertise makes the company an ideal partner for designing and building the units,” Lewis said.
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The first step being taken by the alliance is the construction of a mobile feedstock testing unit that will be used to generate process data from various types of cellulosic feedstock. The unit is expected to be operational in early 2010.
SOURCE: CHEMPRO GROUP LLC