Cellulosic ethanol in the United States

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President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union address delivered January 31, 2006, proposed to expand the use of cellulosic ethanol. In his State of the Union Address on January 23, 2007, President Bush announced a proposed mandate for 35 billion gallons of ethanol by 2017. It is widely accepted that the maximum production of ethanol from corn starch is 15 billion gallons per year, implying a mandated production of some 20 billion gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol by 2017. Bush's plan includes $2 billion dollars funding for cellulosic ethanol plants, with an additional $1.6 billion announced by the United States Department of Agriculture on January 27, 2007.^[1]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is promoting the development of ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks as an alternative to conventional petroleum transportation fuels. Programs sponsored by DOE range from research to develop better cellulose hydrolysis enzymes and ethanol-fermenting organisms, to engineering studies of potential processes, to co-funding initial ethanol from cellulosic biomass demonstration and production facilities. This research is conducted by various national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), as well as by universities and private industry. Engineering and construction companies and operating companies are generally conducting the engineering work.^[2]

In May 2008, Congress passed a new farm bill that will accelerate the commercialization of advanced biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 provides for grants covering up to 30% of the cost of developing and building demonstration-scale biorefineries for producing "advanced biofuels," which essentially includes all fuels that are not produced from corn kernel starch. It also allows for loan guarantees of up to $250 million for building commercial-scale biorefineries to produce advanced biofuels.^[3]

Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Plants in the U.S.^[4]
(Operational or under construction)
Company	Location	Feedstock	Capacity (million gallons per year)
Abengoa Bioenergy	Hugoton, KS	Wheat straw	30
Alico	La Belle, FL	Multiple sources	N/A
BlueFire Ethanol	Irvine, CA	Multiple sources	17
Gulf Coast Energy	Mossy Head, FL	Wood waste	70
Mascoma	Lansing, MI	Wood	40
POET Biorefinery	Emmetsburg, IA	Corn cobs	25
Range Fuels	Treutlen County, GA	Wood waste	20
SunOpta	Little Falls, MN	Wood chips	10
Xethanol	Auburndale, FL	Citrus peels	8