Special Report on Cellulosic Ethanol: SEKAB assembles Euro-based research consortium for five-carbon sugar (pentose) ethanol

In Sweden, SEKAB has been assembling a research and production consortium based on fermentation of both five-carbon and six-carbon sugars. Researchers at Taurus Energy, Chalmers Technical University and the University of Lund have joined an R&D consortium.

The president of Taurus Energy said that the group hoped to become the first to demonstrate a commercially viable process for making fuel from five-carbon sugar, or pentose. The researchers will test the process, which has the potential to increase yields by 40 percent, at a SEKAB pilot plant on a 10 cubic meter scale. The process has been previously tested at a one-liter scale in the lab. Sweden has been the leader in Europe for some time in the development of ethanol — pressing on with agreements with Brazil while other countries have stymied on food vs fuel and emissions concerns.

More on SEKAB is available from the Garbrook Advanced Biofouels Resource

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