By Tom Wallace
GM Global Vehicle Chief Engineer for Performance Vehicles
As an amateur sports car racer, Corvette chief engineer, and rabid racing fan, I’ve seen more than my share of winner’s circle ceremonies. I never thought I would see the day when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and SAE International, the […]
Massachusetts-based Mascoma Corp. has added Dr. Andreas Lippert to its scientific advisory board. Mascoma, along with Coskata, is one of the two companies working on cellulosic ethanol technology that GM invested in earlier this year. Dr. Lippert is the Director of Global Energy Systems for GM and is responsible for strategic analysis and outlook on global energy developments and energy supply chains. Lippert is expected to lend his knowledge in those areas to Mascoma as they move forward with commercialization of cellulosic ethanol production in the next few years. The press release is after the jump.
[Source: General Motors]
Continue reading GM Energy Systems director to join Mascoma advisory board
Filed under: Ethanol
Mascoma Corp is one of the two cellulosic ethanol companies that General Motors invested in earlier this year. Dr. Lee Lynd is one of Mascoma’s co-founders and he and his collaborators at Dartmouth College have published a paper that gives some more insight into Mascoma’s process. They have created a new genetically-engineered bacteria aimed at producing ethanol from biomass. The key to this new microbe is its ability to function at higher temperatures than the naturally-occurring types that have been used previously. The natural bacteria can’t function at temperatures above 37°C and require a significant amount of cellulase enzyme which greatly increases the cost of the process. By operating at temperatures above 50°C, the new microbe requires only 40 percent of the amount of cellulase. The natural bacteria also produce another by-product besides ethanol, organic acids. The resulting output then needs further processing to separate the alcohol from the acid. The genetically-engineered microbes apparently produce no acids, with the fuel being the only product.
[Source: NewScientistTech]
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