United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Lignocellulose to 

Transportation Fuels—

Historical Perspectives 

and Status of Worldwide 

Facilities in 2011–2012

John Zerbe and David Nicholls

Pacifi c Northwest 

Research Station

General Technical 

Report

PNW-GTR-885

November 2013
Authors

John Zerbe is a volunteer, Forest Products Laboratory, One Gifford Pinchot Dr., 

Madison, WI 53726; and David Nicholls is a forest products technologist, Alaska 

Wood Utilization and Development Center, 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, AK 99835.

Cover photos by David Nicholls.

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Abstract

Zerbe, John; Nicholls, David. 2013. Lignocellulose to transportation fuels—

 historical perspectives and status of worldwide facilities in 2010–2011. Gen.

 Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-885. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Forest Service, Pacifi c Northwest Research Station. 20 p.

The U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), located in Madison, 

Wisconsin, celebrated its centennial in 2010, and one of the lab’s signature research 

areas during this century of achievement has been lignocellulosic transportation 

fuels. Many of these research advances have occurred either during wartime emergencies or times of economic crisis. Although great progress has been made, commercial production of lignocellulosic fuels has been limited. In this paper, we take 

an indepth look at advances, breakthroughs, and motivating factors in liquid fuels 

research both at the FPL and in the private sector. We examine the current status of 

lignocellulosic transportation fuels as well as near-term prospects for commercialization. We then summarize leading efforts at lignocellulosic fuel production in a 

comprehensive table. We consider the role that the FPL might have in developing 

lignocellulosic fuels during its second century as well as the commercial potential 

for private sector fi rms.

Keywords: Biomass, fossil fuel, cellulosic ethanol, Forest Products Laboratory.
ii

Contents

1 Introduction

 2 A Brief History of Cellulosic Ethanol as a Motor Fuel

 2 Early 20th Century—Henry Ford and the Model T

 2 World War I Era—American Process for Manufacture of Ethanol

 2 World War II Era—Scholler, Concentrated Acid, and Madison Processes

 4 The 1970s—Oil Crisis

 5 Other Processes for Biomass-Derived Fuels

 7 Commercial Producers of Lignocellulosic Fuels (Status in 2011)

 7 Abengoa—Hugoton, Kansas, USA

10 Beta Renewables—Crescentino, Italy

 10 BlueFire Renewables—Fulton, Mississippi, USA

 10 Blue Sugars Corp.—Upton, Wyoming, USA

 11 BP Biofuels and Mendel Biotechnology—Jennings, Louisiana, USA

 11 Choren—Freiburg, Saxony, Germany

 11 Coskata—Warrenville, Illinois, USA

 11 DuPont Danisco—Vonore, Tennessee and Nevada, Iowa, USA

 12 Enerkem—Canada

 12 Fiberight, LLC—Blairstown, Iowa, USA

 12 INEOS—Vero Beach, Florida, USA

 13 Iogen—Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

 13 KiOR—Pasadena, Texas, USA

 13 Lignol—British Columbia, Canada

 13 Mascoma—Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA

 14 Poet—Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

 14 Range Fuels—Soperton, Georgia, USA

 14 ZeaChem, Inc.—Boardman, Oregon, USA

 14 Discussion and Considerations

 16 Metric Equivalents

 16 Literature Cited

 20 Glossary
1

Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

Introduction

The U.S. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) celebrated its centennial in 2010 (Koning 2010) and has contributed signifi cantly to the development of 

lignocellulosic transportation fuels among other wood-based products. Watershed 

events that have motivated liquid fuels research over the past century include World 

War I, World War II, and the oil embargoes of the 1970s. At the FPL, research 

efforts have been aimed at commercializing processes for liquid fuel production, 

particularly ethanol, from wood. Despite several research breakthroughs, this goal 

has largely proven to be elusive because the production economics have not been 

competitive with petroleum. In this review, we explain recent progress in commercializing biomass-derived fuels as the FPL begins its second century of operations. 

We do this by discussing national and international trends in implementing biofuels, 

and by summarizing commercial biofuels facilities as well as considering facilities 

nearing commercial production.

By mid-2012, several fi rms have announced plans to build commercial 

facilities, but little if any cellulosic ethanol is actually being used on America’s 

highways. Several estimates place the amount of cellulosic ethanol produced 

nationally in 2010 at less than 1 million gal (Maron 2011). Economic considerations 

notwithstanding, there is now a greater need for renewable liquid fuels for myriad 

reasons, including assuring supplies during times of national emergencies, reducing 

greenhouse gases, and reducing other pollutants such as sulfur and heavy metal 

compounds normally associated with coal. During much of 2011, oil prices continued to rise, stymying the diffi cult economic recovery that has been several years in 

the making.

On the other hand, various support programs sponsored by national and 

regional governments help make lignocellulosic biomass-based fuels more competitive with fossil fuel sources. Within the past decade, these have included (BRDI 

2008):

• The Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000

• The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (calling for 7.5 billion gal of renewable 

fuel by 2012)

• The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (calling for 36 billion 

gal per year of biofuels by 2022

• The 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills

The next few years (2012 and beyond) could very well prove to be a litmus test 

of whether large-scale biomass utilization efforts should be focused on transportation fuels versus other products providing greater economic and environmental 

benefi ts (e.g., biomass for electrical and thermal energy generation, or sequestering 
2

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885

carbon in durable wood products). For example, Campbell et al. (2009) suggested 

that biomass used for electricity production could ultimately provide 81 percent 

more transportation miles versus using equivalent feedstocks to produce cellulosic 

ethanol. Others have identifi ed important obstacles to overcome for commercialization of cellulosic ethanol (Margeot et al. 2009), including improved pretreatment 

processes, reduced enzyme costs, maximizing the conversion of pentose sugars, 

minimizing water demands, and valuing and utilizing lignin co-products.

A Brief History of Cellulosic Ethanol as a Motor Fuel

Early 20th Century—Henry Ford and the Model T

Ethanol from biomass was not always uneconomical for use as a motor fuel. One of 

the most successful automobiles of the 20th century, the Model-T Ford, was actually 

a fl exible fuel vehicle, designed to run on ethanol, gasoline, or kerosene. However, 

reductions in the cost of gasoline and, later the onset of Prohibition, made ethanol 

impracticable.

World War I Era—American Process for Manufacture of Ethanol

A batch process for making ethanol from cellulosic residues using dilute acid 

hydrolysis was developed in the late 1800s (Simonsen 1898). Simonsen concluded 

that the best conditions for hydrolyzing sawdust consisted of short runs (15 minutes) 

combined with mild sulfuric acid at about 9 atmospheres pressure. The FPL, in 

Madison, Wisconsin, helped refi ne this process further with a series of experiments 

at the pilot plant scale.

These successes led to the full-scale version for producing ethanol, known as 

the “American Process” (Hajny 1981). During World War I, two American Process 

plants were established in the United States (Georgetown, South Carolina, and Fullerton, Louisiana). The FPL provided assistance, development, and pilot plant testing for both facilities. An engineering study at the Georgetown facility found that 

production costs were as low as $0.25 per gallon (Hajny 1981). A yield of 20 gallons 

of ethanol per ton of dry wood was achieved, somewhat less than that obtained in 

the pilot-plant work.

World War II Era—Scholler, Concentrated Acid, and Madison 

Processes

During World War II, the demand for ethanol fuel again intensifi ed, and the FPL 

was selected to work toward the goal of increasing production. Batch processes had 

become obsolete since World War I; instead the new standard was percolation 

processes having higher ethanol yields. In batch processes, sugar yields were 
3

Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

limited to about 33 percent of the theoretical level (Hajny 1981). To make this ratio 

more favorable, a percolation process was developed in Germany (the Scholler 

process).

During World War II, developments in ethanol production were concentrated 

in Europe. There were Scholler process plants at three locations in Germany (in 

Tornesch, Holzminden, and Dessau). There also were plants in Ems, Switzerland, 

and Korea (Hall et al. 1956). The Swiss plant produced about 52 gallons of absolute 

ethanol per ton of dry wood, somewhat greater than the yields indicated by Hall 

et al. (1956). The Ems plant continued some work on saccharifi cation, and in 1949 

it branched into development, production, and pursuit of textile fi bers. During the 

period following World War II, there were some wood hydrolysis plants making 

ethanol in the former Soviet Union (including Kirov) and at least one in Bulgaria.

Also during World War II, ethanol plants using concentrated acid processes 

operated in Italy and Germany. Hall et al. (1956) summarized the advantages and 

disadvantages of the strong acid processes for producing ethanol.1

 Advantages 

included (1) a high yield of alcohol; (2) increased recovery of furfural, acetic acid, 

and ethereal oils; and (3) the possibility of using sawdust feedstocks as well as 

chips. Disadvantages included (1) a high consumption of acid, and (2) the need to 

dispose of large quantities of calcium sulfate.

A commercial plant using the modifi ed Scholler process was constructed in 

Springfi eld, Oregon, starting in 1944. Although the preparation and fermentation 

of wood hydrolysate at the Springfi eld plant proved successful, technical challenges remained with the sugar production. When the war ended, the contract for 

the uncompleted plant was cancelled by the federal government. Construction was 

later resumed, and after some engineering and economic compromises, the plant 

was completed in 1947, allowing partial operation. Marked changes in the Scholler 

process were necessary before it could be economical in postwar America.

In the late 1940s, the Tennessee Valley Authority became interested in wood 

saccharifi cation because of the large amount of low-value wood waste available 

regionally. In 1952, Nathan Gilbert and his co-workers collaborated on pilot-plant 

studies in cooperation with the FPL. The purpose of this work was to prepare 

molasses for animal feeding tests and to improve and simplify the hydrolysis process. However, owing to the risks involved and modest profi t margins, this process 

was not widely pursued.

1 Originally reported by Centola at the sixth meeting of the Food and Agriculture 

Organization Technical Panel on Wood Chemistry in Rome in 1954.
4

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885

The 1970s—Oil Crisis

Rapid high temperature dilute acid hydrolysis—

Although wars had been a major factor stimulating liquid fuels research during the 

fi rst half of the 20th century, quite different motivating factors were present in the 

1970s. The Arab oil embargo provided new incentives to commercialize alternative 

transportation fuels based on woody biomass feedstocks. The FPL responded by 

collaborating with researchers from the Tennessee Valley Authority with a goal of 

improving the Madison Process for producing ethanol from wood. Much of this 

work focused on improving yields by refi ning parameters for a two-stage high temperature, dilute acid hydrolysis process. In this process, hemicelluloses were fi rst 

removed from wood in a prehydrolysis step, followed by a second-stage hydrolysis 

for glucose removal. By 1985, research successes had led to near-commercialization 

of both the percolation and two-stage processes of ethanol production. The twostage process showed promise for overcoming many of the disadvantages inherent 

in the percolation process, but to a lesser extent than had been hoped (Harris et al. 

1985). Major problem areas still remained including improved utilization of pentose 

sugars, increased yields of marketable products from cellulose, and development 

and evaluation of processing equipment.

Enzyme hydrolysis—

At about the same time that the two-stage high-temperature dilute acid hydrolysis 

process was being developed, research at the FPL and elsewhere led to improved 

organisms for fermenting sugars in wood to ethanol. Wood sugars include both 

fi ve carbon and six carbon sugars, and the primary ones are glucose, mannose, 

galactose, xylose, and arabinose. Glucose is the most common sugar in wood and 

it together with mannose has been fermented. Xylose is the second most common 

sugar in wood, although not as easily fermented.

Now, with new micro-organisms, xylose may be converted to ethanol. 

Enzymes may also sometimes be used for hydrolysing cellulose to sugars. Different approaches may be used with various micro-organisms or treatment processes 

to produce ethanol from lignocellulose. Currently, the lack of low-cost and highactivity cellulose hydrolytic enzymes remains a barrier to commercial production 

of cellulosic ethanol (Zhu et al. 2008). In 2009, projected costs of enzymes were 

24 percent of the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol from corn stover (Aden et al. 

2002). Improved agents for conducting saccharifi cations and fermentations, sometimes simultaneously, are under development by companies including Novozymes, 

Genencor, and DuPont.
5

Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

Other Processes for Biomass-Derived Fuels

Gasifi cation (to produce methanol)—

Methanol was fi rst produced from wood through destructive distillation as a 

byproduct of charcoal manufacture, but today is made in a thermochemical process 

with an initial gasifi cation step. Fixed bed gasifi ers are often used to create producer 

gas made up of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO), as well as other gases that 

must be removed before further processing.

In methanol production, the producer gas that is formed is defi cient in hydrogen. Therefore, a water gas shift reaction is used with some of the CO to provide 

a hydrogen to CO ratio of 2 to 1. Next, carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen are 

removed and discarded. Other steps that may follow include removal of additional 

CO2 formed in the water gas shift, removal of hydrocarbons (primarily methane), 

catalyzed conversion of hydrogen and CO to methanol under high pressure, and 

refi ning crude methanol through distillation (Hokanson and Rowell 1977).

Fischer-Tropsch (to produce alcohols and alkanes)—

The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process is often applied to make fuels such as 

gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from synthesis gas2

 derived from coal or lignocelluloses. With suitable catalysts, this process may be modifi ed to produce various 

specifi c alcohols, or more commonly a mixture of alcohols. The Fischer-Tropsch 

process normally produces straight chain nonoxygenated hydrocarbons known 

as alkanes. There also may be some alkanes with branched carbon chains. Some 

methane is often produced, but is considered undesirable in large quantities.

Fermentation (to produce butanol)—

Besides the previously mentioned batch and percolation processes for producing 

ethanol, fermentation may be used to provide butanol. Butanol has four isomers: 

1-butanol (n-butanol), 2-butanol, 3-butanol (tertiary butyl alcohol), and isobutanol. 

These isomers, owing to their different structures, have somewhat different melting and boiling points. Like many alcohols, butanol is toxic. Because 1-butanol has 

received the most attention in the literature, our discussion focuses on this compound (rather than isobutanol), unless otherwise stated.

Today the greatest impediment to establishing cellulosic ethanol in the marketplace is probably competition from corn-based ethanol. The same is likely true for 

butanol produced from wood. However, butanol does have some notable properties 

that could potentially provide a competitive advantage over ethanol. Butanol is 

2 Synthesis gas (or syngas) is the name given to a gas mixture that contains varying amounts of 

carbon and hydrogen. This gas can then be used directly as a fuel or converted into other fuels and 

chemicals.
6

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885

less miscible in water (resulting in reduced water contamination), and is also lesscorrosive. Further, butanol may be more amenable to pipeline transportation versus 

ethanol, which is not permitted in pipelines (but rather is transported by trucks or 

tank cars at greater expense). Also, unlike ethanol, butanol production does not 

consume additional water when using dry biomass feedstocks, an advantage when 

water is scarce. This could have important implications when considering liquid 

fuel production from woody biomass in dry Western States. Lastly, because butanol 

has an energy density much closer to gasoline than ethanol, its fuel economy is 

commensurately greater than ethanol’s. Besides having lower energy density than 

gasoline, butanol does have other disadvantages. Similar to E-85 fuels, butanol 

added to gasoline in large proportions could have some degree of incompatibility 

with the existing infrastructure used by petroleum fuels, as well as use in internal 

combustion engines.

Esterifi cation (to produce biodiesel)—

Biodiesel has become a proven renewable energy product, and today displaces 

signifi cant fossil fuel use in Europe and the United States. Worldwide biodiesel 

production in 2009 was estimated to be about 14.7 billion gallons, with Europe 

accounting for about 70 percent of this total (Anon. 2011). Just as ethanol can be in 

direct competition with food for corn supplies, biodiesel also can compete with supplies of canola oil or soybean oil for use as food. However, this is not the case when 

biodiesel is made from animal fats or restaurant wastes. When ethanol, jet fuel, 

gasoline, diesel, or other fuels are made from lignocellulosic sources, there is no 

direct competition with food. Today, esterifi cation of plant and animal feedstocks 

is more convenient than applying the high temperature and pressure required in the 

Fischer-Tropsch process.

However, biodiesel fuels ordinarily produced from lipidic sources are not the 

same as diesel from synthesis gas. Diesel from synthesis gas generally has properties close to diesel from petroleum. Synthetic fuels made from synthesis gas are 

called “drop in” fuels; essentially fuels that can be “dropped in” to existing systems, 

whether for automobiles, jet aircraft, or other vehicles. Jet fuel, gasoline, and alcohols from synthesis gas can all be produced as “drop in” fuels without the need to 

modify engines or other infrastructure. On the other hand, biodiesel is usually used 

in a mixture with petroleum diesel; for example “B20” fuels that include 20 percent 

biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel.

Hydrogenation (to produce biodiesel or jet fuel)—

In the hydrogenation process, paraffi n waxes are produced that refi neries can turn 

into diesel and jet fuel distillates. Most of the initial products are solid at room 

temperature and need further refi ning. Hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel 
7

Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

(HDRD) can be produced by refi ning animal fats or vegetable oils, either alone 

or blended with petroleum. This typically involves hydrogenation of triglycerides 

using oil refi nery infrastructure. Gasoline can be produced using a similar refi ning 

process, but this process is in an earlier stage of development. A number of manufacturers around the world are developing HDRD refi ning processes and testing 

them in commercial trials. With this process, it is possible to produce true hydrocarbons with the same feedstocks used to make biodiesel.

Commercial Producers of Lignocellulosic Fuels 

(Status in 2011)

Commercial biofuel production in 2011 included two primary products: ethanol 

from corn and biodiesel from plant oils and animal fats. These are examples of fi rstgeneration biofuels, while second-generation biofuels would include lignocellulosic 

ethanol. The distinction between fi rst- and second-generation biofuels is important because second-generation fuels do not compete directly with human food. 

Although the current production (2010) of second-generation biofuels is limited, 

several companies are making signifi cant strides toward commercialization. A brief 

summary of some of these cutting-edge fi rms follows, supplementing those listed in 

table 1.

Some fi rms that were highlighted by the Environmental Protection Agency in 

2012 included Zeachem in Boardman, Oregon; Fulcrum Bioenergy in McCarraan, 

Nevada; KL Energy in Upton, Wyoming; KiOR in Houston, Texas; Fiberight in 

Blairstown, Iowa; Dupont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol in Vonore, Tennessee; KiOR 

in Columbus, Mississippi; and INEOS Bio in Vero beach, Florida (Voegele. 2011)

Abengoa—Hugoton, Kansas, USA

Abengoa Bioenergy is among the leaders in developing the fi rst commercial-scale 

cellulosic ethanol facility. As of late 2011, Abengoa Bioenergy had received its air 

quality permits, allowing construction of a 23-million-gallon-per-year facility in 

Hugoton, Kansas (Epoverviews 2011a).

The company is also on track to secure all of the necessary biomass feedstock 

for this biorefi nery, approximately 315,000 dry tons of biomass per year. Financing is aided by a $132 million loan guarantee that Abengoa received from the U.S. 

Department of Energy U.S. (DOE) in 2011. The USDA Biomass Crop Assistance 

Program is also expected to benefi t this facility as six counties in southwest Kansas 

have enrolled in this program. In addition to liquid fuels, the plant is expected to 

generate 25 megawatts (MW) of electric power, allowing the ethanol conversion 

to be self-suffi cient. Startup of this plant is expected in 2013, and should increase 
8

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885 Table 1—Lignocellulose to transportation fuels Producer (listed alphabetically) Plant location Feedstock Product Expected start date Capacity Abengoa Bioenergy Hugoton, Kansas Maize straw, wheat Ethanol Early 2013 25 million gallons per year; 25 MW electricity Chemrec AB Pitea, Sweden Black liquor Black liquor gasifi ca- Started June 2003. 4 to 5 metric tons per day tion combined cycle Pilot plants in Sweden China Resources ZhaoDong, China Corn stover Ethanol Began production in Goal of 1.7 million Alcohol Corporation 2006 gallons per year by end of 2013 Coskata (with Warrenville, Illinois Underutilized biomass Ethanol Retail availability end 40,000 gallons per year 

 General Motors) 2010 at earliestDuPont Danisco Vonore, Tennessee Switchgrass, wood Ethanol Plant is operational 250,000 gallons per year  (with Univ. of chips, corn stover,  Tennessee, Genera) sugar cane bagasse,  corn cobsDupont Scotland, South Dakota Corn stover, corn fi ber, Ethanol Pilot in 2007; develop- 30 million gallons per year (with Poet) corn cobs ment through 2009Enerkem Edmonton, Alberta, Sorted municipal solid Methanol, ethanol Commence operations 9.5 million gallons per year Enerkem Pontotoc, Mississippi Municipal solid waste, Methanol, Ethanol Construction start 2011 10 million gallons per year  (with Three Rivers Solid treated wood residues  Waste Management  Authority)Fiberight (with CleanTech) Blairstown, Iowa Municipal solid waste Cellulosic ethanol Start construction 2011; 3.6 million gallons per year running 2012Fulcrum Bioenergy Inc, Reno Industrial Center, Sorted household Ethanol, propanol, Construction 2011 10.5 million gallons per year, (with InEnTec, Fluor) Storey County, Nevada garbage electricity, chemicals 16 MW electricityINEOS (with New Planet Vero Beach, Florida Wood, wood wastes, Ethanol, power, and Expected operation Up to 14 million gallons per  Energy) vegetative wastes, chemical intermediates in 2012 year tiresIogen (with Shell and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Wheat and barley straw Ethanol, gasoline, diesel 500,000 gallons per year Codexis)KiOR Columbus, Mississippi Wood and agricultural Biofuels that can be Began operations May 4 million gallons per year  residues converted to gasoline, 2012 diesel, and jet fuels
9

Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

Table 1—Lignocellulose to transportation fuels (continued)Producer (listedalphabetically) Plant location Freedstock Product Expected start date CapacityLignol Energy Corp Burnaby, BC, Canada Wood chips and other Ethanol, lignin First “end-to-end” pro- 26,000 gallons per year  cellulosic biomass duction June 2009Neste Oil Porvoo, Finland Palm oil, canola oil, Diesel Completion expected 240 million gallons per year  animal fats 2011Rentech Hawaii Sugar cane bagasseTerrabon Port Arthur, Texas Biomass Gasoline Earliest production 2012 700,000 gallons per yearVerenium Corp Highlands County, Energy cane, sorghum Ethanol Break ground in July 30 million gallons per year (with BP) Florida, USA 2010; production 2011Virent Energy Systems Madison, Wisconsin Biomass-derived feed- Hydrogen, gasoline, Startup expected 2012 (with Shell Hydrogen) stocks including diesel, jet fuel glycerinWestern Biomass Energy Upton, Wyoming Ponderosa pine sawdust, Ethanol Startup January 2008 1.5 million gallons per year (and KL Process Design logging residues Group)ZeaChem Boardman, Oregon Poplar trees and other Biofuels Production in 2011 250,000 gallons per year biomassNote: Developers near commercial standing, April 2011.
10

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885

Abengoa’s total U.S. production of ethanol to about 400 million gal. per year (with 

the remainder being fi rst-generation biofuels) (Epoverviews 2012a).

Beta Renewables—Crescentino, Italy

Construction began in April 2011 for the world’s fi rst commercial cellulosic ethanol 

facility (Epoverviews 2012b). The Crescentino, Italy, plant will have a capacity of 

13 million gallons per year and was scheduled to begin production in 2012. The 

facility will be self-suffi cient for its energy needs, and lignin byproducts will be 

burned to generate electricity in an adjacent powerplant. Cellulosic ethanol fi rm 

Beta Renewables is a partner in this project, and their “PROESA” process will be 

used as part of a technology licensing agreement.

BlueFire Renewables—Fulton, Mississippi, USA

BlueFire Renewables (formerly BlueFire Ethanol) is constructing a facility near 

Fulton, Mississippi, to produce up to 19 million gallons per year of ethanol from 

cellulosic waste materials including wood wastes. A memorandum of understanding has been entered into with China Huadian Engineering Co. LTD to help fi nance 

this facility and up to fi ve more plants in the United States (Epoverviews 2011b). 

A feedstock supply deal has been arranged to supply locally sourced wood chips 

from forest residues, precommercial trimmings, and construction wood waste. A 

smaller demonstration facility in Lancaster, California, is expected to produce close 

to 4 million gal. per year of cellulosic ethanol (Epoverviews 2010a).

BlueFire Renewables uses a concentrated sulfuric acid hydrolysis process to 

produce a variety of biofuels including cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, jet fuel, and 

other “drop-in” fuels. They have demonstrated capabilities to produce fuels from 

postsorted municipal solid waste, rice and wheat straws, wood waste, and other 

agricultural residues, indicating the versatility of their process. Their high-yield 

processing has achieved conversions of 85 percent or higher (Epoverviews 2011b).

BlueFire’s acid process allows for operation at low temperatures and atmospheric pressure without the need for genetically modifi ed organisms. Its core technology allows for isolating xylose, glucose, and other sugars for custom delivery 

(Epoverviews 2011b). A wholly owned subsidiary (SucreSource) was formed so that 

cellulosic sugars could be provided to companies specializing in back-end processing including fermentation. BlueFire has received $88 million under the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Blue Sugars Corp.—Upton, Wyoming, USA

This is a demonstration plant to produce 1.5 million gallons per year of ethanol from 

ponderosa pine sawdust and logging residue. In addition to domestic production, 
11

Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

Blue Sugars is planning to provide its technology to three Brazilian facilities by 

2015 (Bloomberg 2012). Blue Sugars recently shipped 24,000 gallons of its cellulosic ethanol to the Brazilian fi rm Petrobas to be used at an event in Rio de Janeiro.

BP Biofuels and Mendel Biotechnology—Jennings, 

Louisiana, USA

Mendel Biotechnology Inc. has partnered with BP Biofuels to conduct demonstration trials of Miscanthus for use in cellulosic ethanol production. A 1.4 million 

gallon-per-year demonstration facility has been established in Jennings, Louisiana, 

to evaluate the initial 100-ac planting. A commercial-scale project is already underway in Highlands County, Florida. Here, a $400 million 36-million-gallon-per-year 

facility is expected to be completed within the next few years, also using Mendel’s 

trademarked “PowerCane Miscanthus” as the primary feedstock (Epoverviews 

2012c).

Choren—Freiburg, Saxony, Germany

A plant to produce 18 million liters of diesel per year has been planned. Choren 

has started work on using organic residues or residual waste to make diesel with 

a two-stage process. This process includes a low-temperature gasifi er to produce 

syngas and char and a high temperature gasifi er to make diesel. Pilot and demonstration plants have been successful, and Choren is interested in a commercial plant. 

However, in 2011, Choren fi led for bankruptcy and sold its main business segment, 

Carbo-V, to Linde Engineering Dresden (Rapier 2011).

Coskata—Warrenville, Illinois, USA

Coskata, Inc. has partnered with Westinghouse Plasma Corp. to construct a wasteto-ethanol facility in Madison, Pennsylvania, called “Project Lighthouse.” Hightemperature plasma gasifi cation is used to create syngas from a variety of nonfood 

biomass waste, which is then fermented to ethanol. As of late 2011, Project Lighthouse had completed 2 years of successful operation, logging more than 15,000 

hours of production (Epoverviews 2011c). Coskata is also planning a commercial 

cellulosic ethanol facility near Boligee, Alabama, and in mid-2011 received a USDA 

loan guarantee for this project (Epoverviews 2011d).

DuPont Danisco—Vonore, Tennessee and Nevada, Iowa, USA

In early 2010, DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC and the University of Tennessee opened a pilot cellulosic ethanol facility in Vonore, Tennessee (Epoverviews 

2010b). The facility will initially use corn cobs as a feedstock before transitioning 
12

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885

to switchgrass. An estimated 4,000 ac of switchgrass will become the primary 

feedstock.

In mid-2011, DuPont Danisco selected Nevada, Iowa, to be the site of a 

commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility having a planned capacity of 25 million gallons of ethanol per year and costing $235 million (Epoverviews 2011e). The 

facility will be unique in that it plans to utilize corn stover, corn cobs, and leaves. A 

Stover Collection Program has been set up to encourage cost-effective harvesting, 

transportation, and storage techniques.

Enerkem—Canada

Enerkem is a Canadian waste-to-biofuels company that has partnered with GreenField Ethanol (Canada’s largest alchohol producer) to build a facility in Varennes, 

Quebec (Epoverviews 2012d). The Varennes facility is Enerkem’s third effort at cellulosic ethanol, with waste-to-biofuel facilities also planned in Edmonton, Alberta, 

and a location in Mississippi. Recently, Enerkem reached a “signifi cant milestone” 

by successfully producing cellulosic ethanol from used telephone poles at its 

demonstration plant in Westbury, Quebec (Epoverviews 2012e). Enerkem’s process 

fi rst produces methanol, which is then converted to ethanol. The Westbury plant has 

been used to test a number of nonrecyclable municipal waste feedstocks.

Fiberight, LLC—Blairstown, Iowa, USA

Fiberight LLC has completed the fi rst stage of construction to convert a corn 

ethanol facility in Blairstown, Iowa, to produce cellulosic ethanol. The $60 million 

project will use municipal solid waste and industrial pulps to produce about 3.6 

million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year (Epoverviews 2012f). A cellulosic 

microbe, developed by Fiberight, will allow up to 15 percent greater ethanol production versus traditional fermentation processes, while reducing energy inputs.

INEOS—Vero Beach, Florida, USA

INEOS Bio-Energy LLC has constructed a waste-to-energy facility near Vero 

Beach, Florida, using a feedstock-fl exible process capable of using yard trimmings, 

waste wood, and other vegetational wastes (Epoverviews 2012g). The ethanol facility is a joint venture between New Planet Energy (based in California) and INEOS 

(based in the United Kingdom) and is expected to generate 8 million gallons of 

ethanol per year plus 6 MW of electric power while consuming 150,000 tons of 

yard wastes. The INEOS process is a unique gasifi cation and fermentation process 

in which naturally occurring bacteria are used to create ethanol from numerous 

feedstocks (including organic municipal wastes). The INEOS facility has received 
13

Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

a conditional commitment for a $75 million loan guarantee from the USDA Biorefi nery Assistance Program.

Iogen—Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

This is a demonstration plant to produce 500,000 gal per year of ethanol, gasoline, 

and diesel from wheat and barley straw. The plant produces fuel for use in-house, 

use at an Ottawa service station, and use in automobile races. In 2010, Iogen 

partnered with Shell to fast-track their plans to produce cellulosic ethanol at a demonstration facility in Ottawa. However, as of May 2012, this partnership was scaled 

back to include only small-scale research but not include a larger scale ethanol 

facility. Although Iogen had been unable to solve engineering challenges associated with larger scale ethanol production (Epoverviews 2012h), it will continue to 

produce biofuel enzymes.

KiOR—Pasadena, Texas, USA

KiOR Inc. has a demonstration plant near Houston, Texas, and expects to have a 

commercial plant with 50 times the capacity of the demonstration plant on line 

by the end of 2011. The Environmental Protection Agency is dependent on this 

producer to help meet 2011 goals. The product is a substitute crude oil made from 

wood and agricultural residues that can be converted into diesel and gasoline.

Lignol—British Columbia, Canada

Lignol Energy Corporation signed an agreement with Denmark’s Novozymes to 

optimize ethanol production from wood chips and other forestry residues at Lignol’s 

industrial pilot plant in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada (Epoverviews 2010c). 

Ultimately, Lignol plans to construct large-scale biorefi neries for the production 

of cellulosic ethanol and biochemicals from wood chips and forestry residues. 

As of April 2011, design and engineering work was completed for a 20-milliongallon-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant. In July 2011, Lignol no longer qualifi ed for 

$30 million in funding from the U.S. DOE to construct a demonstration plant in 

Colorado; however, the fi rm plans to move forward on this project using internal 

funding. Lignol has been instrumental in forming ethanol partnerships through its 

“Sustainable Development Technology Canada” consortium, which includes FPInnovations, Novozymes, and Metso Paper (Epoverviews 2011f).

Mascoma—Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA

Mascoma is planning a 40-million-gallon-per-year, $350 million ethanol plant in 

Michigan to use switchgrass and hardwood to make ethanol. Partner Valero Energy 

plans to invest $50 million in this plant, to be constructed near Kinross, Michigan 
14

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885

(Epoverviews 2012i). Mascoma’s consolidated bioprocessing platform will be used, 

allowing ethanol production in a single step using engineered micro-organisms to 

produce cellulases (avoiding the need to purchase cellulose directly). Hardwood 

pulpwood will be the primary feedstock for the Michigan facility.

Poet—Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

Poet is a corn ethanol manufacturer that hopes to have a 25-million-gallon-per-year 

cellulosic ethanol plant under construction in Emmetsburg, Iowa, by the end of 

2011. Proposed feedstocks are corncobs and corn fi ber. In early 2012, Poet formed 

a joint venture with Dutch enzyme company Royal DSM to privately fi nance the 

Emmetsburg facility (rather than utilize a $105 million U.S. DOE loan guarantee) 

(Epoverviews 2012j). As of late 2011, Iowa farmers had baled close to 61,000 bonedry tons of corn cobs and stover for delivery to the ethanol plant. Total feedstock 

requirements are estimated to be 285,000 tons per year (Epoverviews 2011g).

Range Fuels—Soperton, Georgia, USA

A facility to produce 20 million gallons per year of methanol and ethanol using 

unmerchantable timber and forest residues was planned. However, the plant was 

closed in January 2011 after having produced limited quantities of methanol and 

ethanol. The plant equipment was sold to LanzaTech Corporation for use in its 

ethanol production plant (Epoverviews 2012k).

ZeaChem, Inc.—Boardman, Oregon, USA

ZeaChem has completed construction of a core demonstration facility to produce 

250,000 per year of cellulosic ethanol and other biochemical at Boardman, Oregon 

(Epoverviews 2012l). Plans are underway to expand this to a 25-million-gallonper-year biorefi nery by late 2014, using 70 percent woody biomass and 30 percent 

agriculture residues (including wheat straw and corn stover). ZeaChem is also 

leading research and demonstration trials for production of “drop-in” transportation 

fuels, including jet fuels, diesel fuels, and bio-based gasoline (Epoverviews 2012l). 

A unique aspect of this plant is its use of fast-growing poplar trees from nearby 

plantations.

Discussion and Considerations

For decades, researchers and entrepreneurs have tried to produce liquid fuels from 

lignocellulosic biomass for transportation vehicles with little commercial success. 

Although successful feedstocks and processes have been identifi ed, the inherent 

disadvantage that biofuels face vs. petroleum fuels remains a signifi cant barrier.
15

Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

Worldwide ethanol production is primarily by fermentation, with Brazil and 

U.S. production combining for close to 70 billion liters per year (Perrone et al. 2011), 

and other countries playing secondary roles. Most of the worldwide production 

(73 percent) is used for transportation fuels (Perrone et al. 2011). In the United 

States, a mandate of 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels by 2022 has been 

established to supplement the goal of 15 billion gallons per year of corn ethanol. 

Biodiesel, green gasoline, and jet fuel could also play important roles in utilizing 

cellulosic feedstocks (Regalbuto 2009). One study estimates that second-generation 

woody feedstocks (including logging residues, thinnings, mill residues, and urban 

wood waste) could contribute up to 4 billion gallons of ethanol per year (BRDI 

2008).

Several key barriers to cellulosic ethanol production remain. Some of these 

challenges include further research to quantify life cycle greenhouse gas emission 

benefi ts of biofuels, advances in improving process economics, and improvements 

in fermentation and product recovery (Wyman 2007). Three economic hurdles must 

also be overcome for fi nancial viability according to the U.S. DOE and the U.S. 

Department of Commerce: (1) reduce cellulosic feedstock costs to $30 per ton, (2) 

increase ethanol yields to 90 gallons per dry ton, and (3) reduce costs of enzymes 

used in the production process to $0.05 per gallon (Maness 2008). Reduction in 

feedstock costs will be particularly important as it is estimated that this contributes 

from 35 to 50 percent of total production costs for cellulosic ethanol (Hess et al. 

2007).

Further, unproven business models for cellulosic ethanol systems and greater 

transportation logistics (versus corn ethanol) add to the uncertainty of reaching 

signifi cant production levels (Waltz 2008). Despite these obstacles, numerous 

fi rms were engaged in developing ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks as of 2008 

using wide-ranging feedstocks and technologies (Waltz 2008). As of April 2011, 

groundbreaking ceremonies were held in Italy for construction of a 50-millionliter (12.9-million-gallon)-per-year cellulosic ethanol facility—evidence of strong 

support for commercialization (Canadian Biomass 2011). This facility, scheduled to 

start production in 2012, would be 10 times larger than the current largest demonstration facility, and could pave the way for other commercial facilities.

The goal of commercializing lignocellulosic fuel production within the next 

few years is the basis for great optimism, and this is starting to translate into 

policy actions. Biofuel support policies that have proven benefi cial in Europe can 

broadly be classifi ed as production subsidies, incentives for biofuel users, and 

feedstock subsidies (Wiesenthal et al. 2009). For large-scale biofuel production, an 

effi cient and complementary mix of biofuel policies is warranted. Presently, some 
16

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885

second-generation fuels are being produced, and although mandates for annual 

production have been signifi cantly reduced for the current year, there remains confi dence that these numbers can grow, and commercial-scale operations can begin to 

fl ourish.

Metric Equivalents

When you know: Multiple by: To fi nd:

Acre (ac) .405 Hectares

Gallons (gal) 3.78 Liters

Tons (ton) 907 Kilograms

Literature Cited

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Bloomberg. 2012. Blue sugars to install ethanol technology at Brazil mills. 

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Epoverviews. 2010a. BlueFire and Tenaska ink ethanol sales deal. http://www.

epoverviews.com/. (1 August 2012).
17

Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

Epoverviews. 2010b. Cellulosic ethanol pilot opens in Tennessee. http://www.

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Epoverviews. 2012b. Beta Renewables joins advanced ethanol council. http://www.

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Epoverviews. 2012c. Mendel, BP Biofuels to conduct Miscanthus trials. http://

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Epoverviews. 2012d. Enerkem, GreenField Ethanol announce Quebec’s fi rst wasteto-biofuels production facility. http://www.epoverviews.com/. (1 August 2012).

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Epoverviews. 2012f. USDA supports Fiberight cellulosic ethanol biorefi nery. http://

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18

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885

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Lignocellulose to Transportation Fuels—Historical Perspectives and Status of World-wide Facilities in 2011–2012

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13 p.
20

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-885

Glossary

B-20: Fuels that include 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel.

Batch process: Batch processing is similar to cooking whereby ingredients are 

mixed in a vessel and subjected to specifi ed heat or pressure over a given time 

interval to gain a product for further processing or sale.

E-85: Fuels that include up to 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline or other 

hydrocarbons.

First-generation fuels: There are different interpretations of the meaning of 

fi rst-generation biofuels. In this report fi rst-generation fuels are considered to be 

those that are most commonly on the market (i.e., ethanol produced from starch and 

biodiesel produced through esterifi cation of vegetable oil or plant fats).

Furfural: A dehydration product from further reaction after producing xylose and 

other fi ve-carbon sugars from hemicelluloses by acid hydrolysis. There is some 

thought that furfural along with hydroxymethylfurfural can serve as a building 

block for other potential transportation fuels including dimethylfuran and ethyl 

levulinate.

Percolation process: In saccharifi cation by percolation processing, wood in a 

pressure vessel is hydrolyzed by acid injected into the top of the vessel and sugar is 

withdrawn through a fi lter at the bottom. In this way, sugar production and extraction occur simultaneously. The sugar is separated and cooled as soon as possible to 

avoid decomposition or reversion to higher polymeric form.

Second-generation fuels: Second-generation fuels may be considered to be those 

produced from lignocelluloses derived from nonfood crops. Examples, depending 

on the source, are hydrogen, methanol, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, and mixed alcohols.

Third-generation fuels: Generally taken to mean a fuel derived from algae.

Two-stage dilute acid hydrolysis: A method of processing in which hydrolysis 

proceeds in two steps. First there is a mild prehydrolysis to separate sugars from the 

hemicelluloses of lignocelluloses. This is followed by hydrolysis of the cellulose. 
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