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Through the scientists and technologies of both companies, DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC will launch an accelerated effort to integrate the unique cellulosic processing capabilities of both companies to economically produce ethanol from non-food sources. The parent companies will license their combined existing intellectual property and patents related to cellulosic ethanol. The goal is to maximize efficiency and lower the overall system cost to produce a gallon of ethanol from cellulosic materials by optimizing the process steps into a single integrated technology solution.
In the United States, the joint venture will scale up an optimized technology package for corn cobs from integrating the proprietary DuPont pretreatment and ethanologen technologies with the innovative enzyme technology of Genencor, while DuPont continues to analyze the collection and storage of cellulosic feedstocks. The global joint venture expects its first pilot plant to be operational in the United States in 2009, and its first commercial-scale demonstration facility to be operational within the next three years. The joint venture will be headquartered in the United States and will be formed after receipt of required regulatory approvals.
The joint venture will license its technology package directly to
ethanol producers for deployment in the United States and around the world,
as well as through the establishment of regional cellulosic ethanol
affiliates. The regional ethanol affiliates will invest in equity interests
with strategic partners, including ethanol producers and energy companies,
to enable the rapid deployment of the joint venture's cellulosic ethanol
technology at commercial scale. The joint venture's technology package can
be used both as a "bolt-on" to an existing ethanol plant -- expanding its
capacity to accept cellulosic feedstocks -- or as the design basis for a
stand-alone cellulosic ethanol facility
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