BioFuels Journal

London, ON—Comet Biorefining Inc., a leader in biomass conversion technologies, announced its patent pending Cellulosic Sugar Technology.

This transformative technology produces cellulosic sugar from a wide range of cellulosic materials, such as wood chips, switchgrass and corn cobs, using a novel, low cost pretreatment process.

The resulting cellulosic sugar can be produced close to where biomass is grown and then shipped to biofuels production facilities where it can be directly converted to biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, without the need for on-site pretreatment.

The cellulosic sugar has high energy density and is stable for months after pretreatment, allowing the material to be shipped by rail over long distances and stored like corn or grain.

Comet CEO and Founder, Dr. Andrew Richard, a recognized expert in biomass pretreatment, commented, "Comet Biorefining is pleased to introduce our game changing Cellulosic Sugar Technology.

"This technology produces a dense and shippable cellulosic sugar that fundamentally shifts the economics and logistics of biofuels production.

"By moving the pretreatment process out of the biofuels facility and close to the biomass source, this will drastically reduce both capital and operating costs for biofuels manufacturers, and will allow biofuels technology developers to focus on their core business of developing novel microorganisms and fermentation processes for biofuels production."

Comet Biorefining has demonstrated this unique technology at pilot scale and estimates that cellulosic sugar can be produced for as low as 7 cents per pound based on laboratory testing.

Dr. Richard stated, "The key to success for the biofuels industry is low cost sugar. Because our cellulosic sugar can be produced locally and shipped by rail, Comet Biorefining envisions small, modular, satellite pretreatment plants that can ship dense cellulosic sugar to much larger biofuels facilities.

"We will no longer need to think about cellulosic ethanol plants producing only 30-50 million gallons per year.

"We can now think about facilities that can be many times larger, with the associated economies of scale."

Comet Biorefining plans to build a demonstration facility in 2010 and partner with biofuels technology developers to provide them with cellulosic sugar for their processes.

Comet Biorefining's goal is to license its Cellulosic Sugar Technology worldwide.

For more information, call 519-494-7514.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• Comet Biorefining

more ADVANCED BIOFUELS...