World's first Wood Chip Cellulosic Ethanol Plant

[HoosierRon]

SunOpta and GreenField Ethanol Create Cellulosic Ethanol Joint Venture

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 2006--SunOpta Inc. (SunOpta or the Company) (NASDAQ:STKL)(TSX:SOY) today announced that it has signed a joint venture agreement with GreenField Ethanol Inc. ("GreenField"), formerly known as Commercial Alcohols Inc., Canada's leading producer of fuel ethanol, to develop and implement commercial scale processes for the production of cellulosic ethanol from wood chips, including the planned establishment of one or more commercial scale plants employing the new process.

The first plant is planned to produce 40 million liters (approximately 10 million gallons) of cellulosic ethanol per year, which would be the first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plant built and operational in the world using wood chips. Greenfield Ethanol and SunOpta are actively involved in selecting a site for the first plant in Ontario or Quebec. Subsequent plants will be in the range of 200 to 400 million liters (approximately 50 to 100 million gallons) per year capacity.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....lar&id=944112&

To put this in perspective, if the average car gets 30 mpg and is driven 12,000 miles per year, a single plant producing 100 million gallons of ethanol per year would produce enough ethanol so that 294,118 cars could run exclusively on E85.

[HoosierRon]

Meanwhile, corn-based ethanol sends profits to Iowa, not imams:

Average corn prices are now expected to range between $2.90 to $3.30 a bushel, up ten cents from last month’s forecast. USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins said, “We think about 50 percent of the corn crop has been marketed so far this year at an average price of about $2.70 a bushel. As we look for the other 50% to be marketed, we think that could probably average about $3.50 a bushel.”

According to market analyst Brian Hoops of Midwest Market Solutions, this is only the fourth time in history that corn prices have topped the $3.00 mark. “The record year was 1995-96, so we are in some pretty uncharted waters for corn as far as cash price,” Hoops commented during a Minneapolis Grain Exchange conference call with reporters after the report was released Monday morning.

http://domesticfuel.com/?cat=3

Oil prices have dropped $11 this summer even though the U.S. dollar has gotten weaker. (I realize there are many factors influencing the price of oil. Nonetheless, it shows things are going in the right direction.)

[FusionSVT]

Corn based ethanol is a complete waste of resources. Even if we used up the entire corn stock of the united states we would only supplant 6% of our petroleum usage. Not to mention corn based ethanol requires more money to produce.

Cellulosic ethanol can produce a gallon of ethanol at 6 cents a gallon, unlike Corn which is in the mid $2.50/gallon range.

[Evo69]

Special sugar cane is even better GM do Brasil can show the way on that level.

[GMCSonoma]

ANY form of ethanol so far supports the US & Canada and it's farm families and not rogue terrorists who threaten nothing but extreme htred & violence...so it's "costs" are well worth it, IMO...

I've heard "rumor" that even food-garbage-waste can be converted into fuel grade ethanol...

[HoosierRon]

It is not a rumor. Any living plant contains cellulose, and a lot of it. Celluose is a glucose polymer: a bunch of simple sugar molecules connected to each other. The trick is breaking up the polymer. Once you do that, you can easily convert the glucose to alcohol. This is called ethanol, unless you do it in a still in Kentucky, in which case you pour it into a charred oak bucket and call it bourbon.

Corn is used now because the sugar already is broken up. But as science develops (via genetic engineering) specialized enzymes to break up the polymers, it will become more cost-effective to use celluose in the form of plant garbage rather than corn. Note that cane sugar is far more efficient than corn for making ethanol (because it is all glucose and is easier to grow). But cane sugar is not nearly as efficient as using cellulose.

Cellulosic ethanol really is the holy grail to energy independence. The story above is so big because it is the first example of cellulosic ethanol coming out of the lab and into commercial production. Think about it: if any plant garbage can be used to make ethanol, ethanol produciton facilities can be built just about anywhere!

[mkaresh]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

To put this in perspective, if the average car gets 30 mpg and is driven 12,000 miles per year, a single plant producing 100 million gallons of ethanol per year would produce enough ethanol so that 294,118 cars could run exclusively on E85.

Which existing vehicle gets 30 mpg on E85? Any of them? Remember that fuel economy is about 30 percent lower with E85.

Also note that even the 10 million gallon plant is just in the planning stage.

Finally, very little of that corn-based ethanol money is going to end up in farmers' pockets. You could make a similar argument for buying more Doritos. How much of the money spent on a bag of corn chips goes into farmers' pockets?

[HoosierRon]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

Which existing vehicle gets 30 mpg on E85? Any of them? Remember that fuel economy is about 30 percent lower with E85.

Oh come on. You can play with the numbers all you want. The bottom line is that as each new cellulosic ethanol plant comes on line, it will allow hundreds of thousands to switch to E85.

[mbukukanyau]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

It is not a rumor. Any living plant contains cellulose, and a lot of it. Celluose is a glucose polymer: a bunch of simple sugar molecules connected to each other. The trick is breaking up the polymer. Once you do that, you can easily convert the glucose to alcohol. This is called ethanol, unless you do it in a still in Kentucky, in which case you pour it into a charred oak bucket and call it bourbon.

Corn is used now because the sugar already is broken up. But as science develops (via genetic engineering) specialized enzymes to break up the polymers, it will become more cost-effective to use celluose in the form of plant garbage rather than corn. Note that cane sugar is far more efficient than corn for making ethanol (because it is all glucose and is easier to grow). But cane sugar is not nearly as efficient as using cellulose.

Cellulosic ethanol really is the holy grail to energy independence. The story above is so big because it is the first example of cellulosic ethanol coming out of the lab and into commercial production. Think about it: if any plant garbage can be used to make ethanol, ethanol produciton facilities can be built just about anywhere!

Is that stock a buy? I am looking to buy these sort of stocks.
I already bought one (Heartland Energy Group IncOTC:HEGP ) and I think I will make some money off it, next year.
I think this stuff is going to take off. I'd like to get into ethanol distribution too.

I hope so. I am soo tired of these guys acusing us of stealing oil, while we pay for every gallon we buy!!!

[HoosierRon]

Right now, my grandmother could start an ethanol production facility, and she's dead. Because of federal mandates, dozens of facilities are opening up every year. When the mandates top out in 2012, the U.S. will be producing enough ethanol to replace 5% of all gasoline. (You could have E5 everywhere, but it is more efficeint to have E85 in some places and E0 in others.) That will about be all we can get from corn, which is why cellulosic ethanol is so important. As the capacity to produce cellulosic ethanol increases, it will allow the government to dramatically increase the mandated use of ethanol.

As for stocks, my prediction is that as the industry develops, Big Ag and Big Oil will consolidate it.

[mbukukanyau]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

Right now, my grandmother could start an ethanol production facility, and she's dead. Because of federal mandates, dozens of facilities are opening up every year. When the mandates top out in 2012, the U.S. will be producing enough ethanol to replace 5% of all gasoline. (You could have E5 everywhere, but it is more efficeint to have E85 in some places and E0 in others.) That will about be all we can get from corn, which is why cellulosic ethanol is so important. As the capacity to produce cellulosic ethanol increases, it will allow the government to dramatically increase the mandated use of ethanol.

As for stocks, my prediction is that as the industry develops, Big Ag and Big Oil will consolidate it.

I have been wondering why no big oil is pouring money into this industry. They at least owe it to us to help get out of this oil import mess.
We loose lives (I support the war) due to terror funded by their (big oil) activities. They need to help develop this alternative energy

[Saturn69]

Originally Posted by GMCSonoma

I've heard "rumor" that even food-garbage-waste can be converted into fuel grade ethanol...

Nope, not a rumor. It's called Thermal Depolymerization. With enough plants we would not only help gain energy independence, we would virtually eliminate our landfills. It's not a miracle cure for gasoline addiction or the ICE, but it's an option to consider. Just think of the jobs that we could create if we be self-sufficient energy wise. Instead, we'll just complain that it isn't perfect, that it costs more to build the plants and that we'd much rather send our money to the Middle East than to invest in our own future and stop supporting OPEC. Look at it this way; National Security would no longer be the balancing act that we have today if we didn't need their oil.

[TimR]

This technology is in its starting stages....with some luck there will be some major gains to be had here. It certainly can't hurt.

On another note, when you buy a flexfuel vehicle, does anyone know exactly what is different compared to the standard gas version?? Seals? Injectors? Is it just programming? If anyone has good info or good links please post...

[FusionSVT]

Originally Posted by Evo69

Special sugar cane is even better GM do Brasil can show the way on that level.

Brazil loses money on every gallon they produce, and the USA is going to be producing more ethanol then Brazil in 2006.

[FusionSVT]

Originally Posted by GMCSonoma

ANY form of ethanol so far supports the US & Canada and it's farm families and not rogue terrorists who threaten nothing but extreme htred & violence...so it's "costs" are well worth it, IMO...

I've heard "rumor" that even food-garbage-waste can be converted into fuel grade ethanol...

Its a similiar concept to cellulosic, one process is to use microorganisms to turn it into ethanol. E85 is profitable for the refiner, but for the gas stations it isn't very profitable, and thats why Ethanol isn't going to be spreading as fast with current gas prices. There's a magic number that makes Ethanol profitable, and currently without heavy subsidies there's no way to make money off of the Corn-based ethanol, which is NOT the wave of the future.

Most inside the industry would agree that Cellulosic ethanol won't reach a Industrial level stage until 2011.