Good waste, tough waste, and cellulosic biofuels, via Purdue

In Indiana, researchers at Purdue University have discovered that not all corn waste is the same and that more efficient cellulosic ethanol production could result from treating the different types of cellulose—the rind, the leaves and the pith—differently.

The pith and leaves of stover are fairly easy to break down while the rind, which only adds about 20 percent of the ethanol produced, requires 10 times more enzymes, research showed.