Qteros says super bug could bring cellulosic ethanol to market

July 22nd, 2009 by Jeff Kart

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Sometimes, when you ask a question, you get a good answer.

A recent post on a push to increase the U.S. gasoline blend rate ended with this thought-provoker: At this rate, will cellulosic ethanol, from non-food plant materials, ever get off the ground?

Yes, replied Sam Salyer, a representative for a Massachusetts-based biofuel company called Qteros.

The company, formerly SunEthanol, recently announced an ethanol yield well beyond what the U.S. Department of Energy considers the threshold for commercial production, he wrote.

Qteros says it’s achieved an ethanol yield of 70 grams per liter. The DOE’s commercial standard is 50 grams per liter.

“To date, this is the most economical and viable cellulosic process announced by any cellulosic company,” Salyer says.

“Additionally Qteros has achieved these results without yet genetically modifying its microbe strain — something the company is working on now which they expect will further increase their output.”

Qteros uses a technology called Q Microbe, which turns biomass into cellulosic ethanol, according to company officials.

“These results confirm what we predicted: Qteros and the Q Microbe can make cellulosic ethanol a commercial reality.” according to Sue Leschine, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst microbiologist who first discovered the Q Microbe near the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts.

Company officials describe the Q Microbe as a super-bug with unique properties that make it ideally suited to the production of cellulosic ethanol from a variety of non-food plant materials. They say it’s the “yeast” component of the conventional bioconversion process plus the enzyme component, all in one.

Qteros has been funded by companies including BP, Valero, Soros Quantum Fund, Battery Ventures and Venrock.

(Image credits: Courtesy of Qteros)

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Tags: cellulosic, Ethanol, qteros

About the Author

Jeff Kart is typing about issues in the Great Lakes, from advanced biofuels to zero-emission vehicles. Jeff is an environmental journalist and social media evangelist based in Michigan, where the summers are short, the winters are cold, and the stories are plentiful.