SunEthanol Collaborates With MBI to Scale-Up Cellulose BioEthanol
Process
LANSING, Mich. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) August 26, 2008 --
Responding to the demand in the market for cellulosic biofuels, SunEthanol
is collaborating with MBI International
to scale-up a fermentation method for producing ethanol from non-food
agricultural feedstocks. This fermentation method utilizes SunEthanol’s
unique Q-Microbe™,
which effectively digests and ferments cellulosic feedstocks to ethanol
in a single-step process.
“There are several reasons we chose to
partner with MBI,” states Dr. Sarad Parekh, VP
of Research and Development at SunEthanol. “We
were impressed by their multidisciplinary expertise, rigorous and
disciplined scale-up approach, and specialized on-site pilot-plant
facilities.”
MBI is a Lansing, Michigan biotechnology firm specializing in
fermentation process development and scale-up. MBI also develops biomass
processing technologies. Currently, MBI is actively scaling-up AFEX
(ammonia fiber expansion), a promising biomass pretreatment technology
developed at Michigan State University.
“We believe that AFEX-treated biomass could
be an effective feedstock for our Q-microbe in producing cellulosic
ethanol,” said Dr. Parekh. AFEX opens up
biomass cell-wall structures, thereby increasing the effectiveness of
digestion.
“MBI's mission is to accelerate bio-based
technologies from early stage to practical application,”
states Dr. Bobby Bringi, President and CEO of MBI. “MBI
minimizes risk by demonstrating commercial viability at a meaningful
pilot scale. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with SunEthanol,
an innovative biofuels technology company, to determine the commercial
viability of their Q-Microbe™ approach.”
About MBI
MBI has 25 years of experience in fermentation technologies and process
scale-up. MBI combines a full spectrum of science, engineering,
operational, and business expertise with an integrated and flexible
infrastructure from laboratory bench to pilot plant. MBI partners with
both universities and end-user companies to bridge the gap between early
innovations and commercial applications. MBI’s
focus is in the area of Industrial or White Biotechnology, which refers
to the production of fuels, chemicals, polymers, proteins and other
materials from renewable resources. Please visit www.mbi.org
for more information.
About SunEthanol
SunEthanol is a venture-backed company committed to delivering
innovative process technologies for sustainable transportation fuels
that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create domestic jobs, and reduce
national dependence on foreign oil, all at a price competitive with
gasoline. SunEthanol will begin construction of cellulosic ethanol
plants in 2010 in partnership with industry leaders in design and
construction of biofuel production facilities. Please visit www.sunethanol.com
for more information. For further information on SunEthanol please
contact Adam McDaniel of RenewComm, at adam@renewcomm.com,
240-533-1929 cell, 301-887-1060 office.
Release Summary:
Responding to the demand in the market for cellulosic biofuels,
SunEthanol is collaborating with MBI International to scale-up a
fermentation method for producing ethanol from non-food agricultural
feedstocks. This fermentation method utilizes SunEthanol’s
unique Q-Microbe(TM), which effectively digests and ferments cellulosic
feedstocks to ethanol in a single-step process.
Keyword Tags:
afex, alternative energy, alternative fuels, bioethanol, biofuel,
Cellulose, cellulose ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, ethanol, ethanol fuel,
q-microbe
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