The first commercial, stand-alone cellulose-to-ethanol production facility, owned and operated by BC International Corporation, celebrated its ground-breaking ceremony in Jennings, Louisiana. The plant is expected to produce up to 20 million gallons a year of ethanol from agricultural processing waste materials including sugar cane bagasse and rice hulls.
Bagasse is the crushed, juiceless remains of sugar cane as it comes from the mill. Oftentimes it is used as fuel for the sugar mill and sometimes it is used commercially as a source of cellulose in paper making, animal feeds and ethanol production.
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Bill Richardson heralded the event, saying, "We can look forward to a day when a ton of biomass will be traded like a barrel of oil is traded today. Biomass can be used in the same way as oil: to fuel cars, to make electricity, and as a raw material for the chemical industry."
DOE granted BC International $11 million towards the project. The production of ethanol from cellulose is expected to further stimulate rural economic development while significantly reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
