2008-01-24 Startup Says It Can Make Ethanol for $1 a Gallon, and Without Corn

2008-01-24 Wired Chuck Squatriglia \oil addiction\sustainability\General Motors\fuel oil synthesis\ethanol\E85 http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2008/01/ethanol23 Startup Says It Can Make Ethanol for $1 a Gallon, and Without Corn &ldquo;A biofuel startup in Illinois can make ethanol from just about anything organic for less than $1 per gallon, and it wouldn't interfere with food supplies, company officials said.&rdquo;  A biofuel startup in Illinois can make ethanol from just about anything organic for less than $1 per gallon, and it wouldn't interfere with food supplies, company officials said.

Coskata, which is backed by General Motors and other investors, uses bacteria to convert almost any organic material, from corn husks (but not the corn itself) to municipal trash, into ethanol.

"It's not five years away, it's not 10 years away. It's affordable, and it's now," said Wes Bolsen, the company's vice president of business development.

The only catches are (1) the pilot plant will have very limited production, (2) distribution networks still need to be set up to handle E85, and (3) most cars need "flex fuel" modification to be able to use it. None of these are insuperable problems, and may well be solved by the marketplace given the incentive of greatly lower fuel pricing.

See also htyp:Dollar a gallon gasoline.   