Bioethanol

Bioethanol is a renewable fuel. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to petrol (gasoline), because when it is burnt, it effectively returns carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere, which was only recently taken out when the biomass grew, whereas burning petrol releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from carbon that has been stored in the form of oil over a very long time period.  There are three main approaches to producing bioethanol from biomass materials:
 
   1  Conventional fermentation of sugars obtained from sugar and starch crops
   2  Hydrolysis of cellulose to sugars using acid or enzymes followed
       by fermentation of the sugars
   3  Gasification of any biomass to syngas followed by catalytic conversion
       to bioethanol
 
Conventional fermentation of sugars from crops is established technology. This is how almost all bioethanol is produced today. Biofuel production from crops is likely to remain an important part of the biofuels mix for many years to come, although much of the growth in the market is likely to come from second generation technologies. 
 
The second category is emerging second generation technology. Cellulosic fermentation still has several cost challenges. The cellulose in biomass can be readily converted to C6 sugars for onward conversion to ethanol. It is more challenging to economically convert the C5 sugars from hemi-cellulose to ethanol, and the lignin cannot be converted. 
 
The INEOS Bio process falls into the third category. It is an advanced thermochemical and biochemical second generation bioethanol technology, which can convert cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin efficiently to clean bioethanol through. It delivers at least 90% Greenhouse gas savings compared to petrol, is cost-competitive and is independent of food production. The INEOS Bio second generation bioethanol is expected to take a significant share of the growth in the European and North American bioethanol market.