American Energy plans low-cost cellulosic ethanol
American Energy Enterprises, a new company based in the US state of Connecticut, believes that a proposed new plant will allow it to produce cellulosic ethanol from wood waste at $0.80-0.85 (€0.56-60) a US gallon.
The company has reached an agreement with Perdue University to use a special strain of yeast engineered to digest cellulose: the company believes this will raise yields from their original estimate of 30-50 gallons of ethanol per tonne of feedstock to 80-100 gallons.
Another factor the company believes will allow it to keep down costs is the opportunity to acquire the feedstock at zero cost or even a modest profit. Chairman Christopher Brown explained that disposal of wood waste at landfill in Connecticut can cost up to $60 a ton. American Energy simply has to ensure that it takes wood waste at a lower cost than dedicated disposal merchants. It already has supply contracts in place for the plant’s first five years.
The plant is expected to begin production in mid-2010 and will initially produce up to 15 Mgy. Once production commences, units will be added monthly to increase capacity until the plant reaches its full capacity of 80-100 Mgy.
Brown admitted that the project had been set back by the recent turmoil in financial markets, but insisted the project is now back on track. He is hoping that a $50 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DoE) will be approved by the end of August, but he is adamant the project can succeed without the money.
The company has reached an agreement with Perdue University to use a special strain of yeast engineered to digest cellulose: the company believes this will raise yields from their original estimate of 30-50 gallons of ethanol per tonne of feedstock to 80-100 gallons.
Another factor the company believes will allow it to keep down costs is the opportunity to acquire the feedstock at zero cost or even a modest profit. Chairman Christopher Brown explained that disposal of wood waste at landfill in Connecticut can cost up to $60 a ton. American Energy simply has to ensure that it takes wood waste at a lower cost than dedicated disposal merchants. It already has supply contracts in place for the plant’s first five years.
The plant is expected to begin production in mid-2010 and will initially produce up to 15 Mgy. Once production commences, units will be added monthly to increase capacity until the plant reaches its full capacity of 80-100 Mgy.
Brown admitted that the project had been set back by the recent turmoil in financial markets, but insisted the project is now back on track. He is hoping that a $50 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DoE) will be approved by the end of August, but he is adamant the project can succeed without the money.
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