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December 22, 2006

Cellulosic Ethanol JV to Use Wood Chips

Toronto, Ontario [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

SunOpta Inc. signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with GreenField Ethanol Inc. to develop and implement commercial scale processes to produce cellulosic ethanol from wood chips.

"The SunOpta BioProcess Group is raising $30 million to fund exciting growth projects utilizing the Group's proprietary technology in the production of cellulosic ethanol."

-- Steve Bromley, SunOpta, president and COO

One or more commercial-scale plants using the new process are planned. The venture, 50% owned by GreenField and 50% by SunOpta's BioProcess Group, will use the SunOpta BioProcess Group's patented and proprietary process solutions.

The first plant is planned to produce 40 million liters (approximately 10 million gallons) of cellulosic ethanol per year, which would be the first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plant built and operational in the world using wood chips. Greenfield Ethanol and SunOpta are actively involved in selecting a site for the first plant in Ontario or Quebec. Subsequent plants will be in the range of 200 to 400 million liters (approximately 50 to 100 million gallons) per year capacity.

Steve Bromley, President and COO of SunOpta commented, "The SunOpta BioProcess Group is raising $30 million to fund exciting growth projects utilizing the Group's proprietary technology in the production of cellulosic ethanol."

The SunOpta BioProcess Group, which has delivered biomass solutions worldwide for the last 30 years, produces cellulosic ethanol and supplies equipment and technology to three cellulosic ethanol projects in the U.S., Spain, and China.

GreenField Ethanol, formerly Commercial Alcohols, produces 215-million liters a year of corn-based ethanol at its plants in Ontario. A third facility in Quebec is slated to open in February 2007 and two more plants are under construction in Ontario, to be operational in 2008. GreenField's fuel is available at more than 1,500 gas stations across Canada.
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Reader Comments (2)
 
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January 3, 2007
I have been reading about cellulosic ethanol and find that it is hoped to be be a less expensive choice for producing E85 fuel. Seems like it might be a good option... e85.whipnet.net/ethanol.faq/cellulosic.ethanol.html
Comment 1 of 2
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January 17, 2007
It would be wonderful if cellulosic ethanol could be made commercially viable. Producing ethanol from corn is only a little better than break even and is a waste of good farmland. Cellulosic ethanol could be produced with waste products, like logging residues and the inedible parts of crops, which would mean that no new farmland would be needed. Also, the efficiency would be improved dramatically because no additional energy is needed to grow the material since it is a waste product and is therefore produced whether it is used for ethanol production or not. Even if crops are grown to produce the cellulosic ethanol it would still be superior to using corn because cellulose is much more abundant in plant matter than starch is in corn (the starch in corn is what is currently used to produce ethanol). Also, switchgrass, which can grow in marginal soils and does not need much water, could be used to produce ethanol.
Comment 2 of 2
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