State-of-the-art report on status of wood hydrolysis for ethanol production

Technical Report · Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:6269751

Baker, A J; Jeffries, T W

Ethanol is a potentially important substitute liquid fuel for energy-deficient developing countries. This state-of-the-art report describes the most prominent methods for producing ethanol from wood. There are two general methods for producing ethanol from wood: (1) acid hydrolysis of wood into hexose sugars which are then fermented into ethanol, and (2) enzymatic hydrolysis, which involves pretreating wood to yield a product from which cellulose is hydrolyzed into sugar which is then fermented into ethanol. The authors proceed to discuss in succession: the availability, reliability, and chemical composition of raw materials; the specific acid hydrolysis processes used by Georgia Institute of Technology, New York University, American Can Company, Forest Products Laboratory, and a Brazilian firm; mechanical, thermal, solvent, acid and other methods for pretreating wood; and the enzymatic hydrolysis processes used by Natick, Gulf Oil Company, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Penn/General Electric. Presented next are descriptions of current technologies for fermenting hexose (conventional practice, vacuum fermentation, immobilized cells, and zymomonas fermentation) and pentose (xylulose fermentation, direct conversion of xylose to ethanol, and bacterial fermentation). The authors conclude that since few techniques have reached the pilot plant and production stages in developed countries, equipment and production costs cannot be established. However, the developing countries most likely to consider producing ethanol are those with high forest growth capacity; an energy deficit; a need for economical, internally-produced liquid fuels; and a low capacity for producing agricultural materials for ethanol production. Appended is a 106-item bibliography (1819-1981).

• Research Organization: Forest Service, Madison, WI (USA). Forest Products Lab.
• OSTI ID: 6269751
• Report Number(s): PB-85-102077/XAD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
090222* -- Alcohol Fuels-- Preparation from Wastes or Biomass-- (1976-1989)
140504 -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
299003 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Unconventional Sources & Power Generation-- Other-- (-1989)
ACID HYDROLYSIS
ALCOHOLS
BACTERIA
BIOCONVERSION
BIOMASS
CARBOHYDRATES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
ENERGY SOURCES
ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS
ENZYMES
ETHANOL
FERMENTATION
FUNGI
HEXOSES
HYDROLYSIS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
IMMOBILIZED CELLS
LYSIS
MICROORGANISMS
MONOSACCHARIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PENTOSES
PLANTS
PRODUCTION
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SACCHARIDES
SACCHAROMYCES
SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE
SOLVOLYSIS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
WOOD
YEASTS
ZYMOMONAS MOBILIS