MOSCOW (MRC) -- Poet-DSM’s opening of a cellulosic biofuel production facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa marks the beginning of commercial-scale cellulosic biofuel production, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The plant is the first of three scheduled to come on line this year, including DuPont’s in Iowa and Abengoa’s in Kansas, said Ucsusa.
In 2008, Congress set a course to move U.S. biofuel production beyond corn ethanol and soybean biodiesel to advanced biofuels made from non-food resources. These commercial facilities are the result of enormous engineering progress and substantial financial investment in a clean transportation future, according to Jeremy Martin, a senior scientist in UCS’s Clean Vehicles Program. Martin says 2014 is poised to be the first year in which U.S. cellulosic biofuel production exceeds a million gallons.
In July, UCS convened clean transportation experts to tour the Poet-DSM facility, see firsthand the developments in commercializing cellulosic biofuels, and learn what it takes to turn corn stover, perennial grasses and other biomass feedstocks into clean, sustainable fuel. According to a recent UCS report, several states can produce more clean fuel and energy from agricultural residues and manure. More broadly, UCS has found that the country can cut its projected oil use in half in the next twenty years, with efficient vehicles and clean fuels.
As MRC wrote before, Royal DSM (Heerlen / The Netherlands) has signed a partnership agreement with long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) specialist Plasticomp (Winona, Minnesota / USA) to develop bio-based LFT composite materials based on DSM’s "EcoPaXX" polyamide 4.10. The lightweight materials, which include compounds reinforced with glass fiber as well as carbon fiber, will be targeted at automotive and other performance-driven markets.
Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials.
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