What does a Dissolving Pulp plant have to do with your local bar and the national energy crisis? Digging under the surface, you will find that the two are very closely related. Dissolving woodpulp plants could very well be our next major Ethanol Suppliers. Here is how that will happen.

The mill takes pulpwood, chips, or other parts of trees and breaks them down into various fibers to make paper. One of the fibers is called cellulose. Ethanol is created by fermenting sugars, starches or cellulose. The resulting clear liquid, ethyl alcohol, is the same type of alcohol found at the local bar. It is pure grain alcohol and is highly flammable. Ethanol is a byproduct of the mills.

The name cellulosic ethanol refers to the ethanol that is left over after separating the cellulose fibers in trees to create paper. Creating ethanol in this manner is very expensive. There are very specific organisms that must be present. Several steps are required to process the it to produce the bio-fuel. Corn, however, requires one less step, so is less expensive to manufacture. Researchers are attempting to find the microorganisms that will be less expensive and still produce the desired product.

America has long been the largest producer of corn in the world. Researchers found a way to create cellulose ethanol from corn, and have been doing so for decades now. The use of wood is becoming a more viable choice to create ethanol since oil prices are so high. Several dissolving pulp companies around the world are converting to bio-fuels to realize a higher profit. Tax incentives for these companies have helped them restructure.

While ethanol can be used as fuel all by itself, it is most often mixed with gasoline. The blend increases the octane of the gas while reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted from the car exhausts. Gas performance is improved and our concern over pollution is reduced. The added bonus is that both corn and wood are renewable resources.

If we are running low on ethanol, we just have to grow more corn or trees to get all we need. Fossil fuels, like oil, are not renewable and we only have a limited supply. When that is gone, we will have to wait until the next ice age to get more fossil fuel.

Still in their infancy, bio-refineries may very well be the next major energy companies. One hurdle that is being overcome is the search for the microorganisms that will allow cellulose ethanol to be produced at a lower cost. The research is an attempt to determine how corn and trees are converted into energy in nature. As odd as it sounds, the common termite may provide the answer. Its excrement is proving to have the enzymes that will do the job, and do it inexpensively.

Think twice before you call an exterminator, you may want to start a termite farm. And the next time you pass a Dissolving Pulp mill, belly up to the bar and ask if they are Ethanol Suppliers, they just might be.

Author Bio: A leading company in integrating forest products company, with operations in North America and France. We deliver the best in Ethanol suppliers, Wood pulp, pulp and paper products, and much more.

Category: Business
Keywords: Market pulp, Wood pulp, Ethanol suppliers, Dissolving pulp, Pulp and paper, Forest Products, forest