Our Technology
Frontier will use a process that has been patented and successfully demonstrated by our parent company, Mascoma, to turn sustainably harvested wood biomass into homegrown renewable cellulosic ethanol. This proven process is called consolidated bioprocessing (CBP), and uses nature’s best cellulose-degrading and ethanol-producing microbes. The cutting edge advantages of CBP include:
- Rapidly breaking down components of cellulosic biomass
- Converting a range of different sugars to ethanol
- Thriving in a manufacturing environment
By using microorganisms as part of the CBP method, Frontier can produce cellulosic ethanol using very little energy, heat, and water. As a result, CBP is a simple, low-cost process compared with other, unconsolidated methods.
Cellulosic ethanol – What it is and what are its benefits?
Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol obtained from the non-edible portion of plant materials such as crop byproducts, woody biomass, stalks, stems, and stover. Cellulosic ethanol is identical in composition and performance to ethanol derived from corn and sugar cane.
Compared with corn or sugar ethanol, cellulosic ethanol has greater benefits. For one, cellulosic ethanol has 5.5 units of energy per gallon, compared with only 1.5 in corn ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol production also generates 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than corn ethanol production. Burning it for fuel generates half the GHG emissions of gasoline from fossil fuels.
Most importantly, cellulosic ethanol creates local jobs and reduces our nation’s dependence on imported oil.
In short, cellulosic ethanol offers economic and environmental benefits because of its source and method of production.
Why we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Foreign oil imports send $200 billion abroad instead of spending it in the U.S. Building facilities within the U.S. that produce ethanol from sustainable sources will create local jobs, stabilize fuel prices, and reduce environmental damage that causes climate change and threatens our Great Lakes, forests, public health, and quality of life.