Specialty chemicals maker Clariant International ltd. (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) today inaugurated Germany’s biggest pilot plant for the production of climate-friendly cellulosic ethanol from agricultural waste. Located in Straubing, Bavaria and supported by the Bavarian government and the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, the futuristic project will produce up to 1,000 tons of cellulosic ethanol from around 4,500 tons of wheat straw based on the Sunliquid technology developed by Clariant. It represents an investment of around 28 million euros. Studies show that Germany potentially has around 22 million tons of straw that could be used for energy production without compromising essential soil regeneration. This would be sufficient to cover around 25% of Germany’s current gasoline requirements, the company says. The sunliquid process is an innovative biotechnological method that turns plant waste products such as grain straw and corn straw into second-generation cellulose ethanol.
Agricultural waste-to-ethanol pilot begins operation in Germany
| By Scott Jenkins