Clariant launches biofuel of the future
In the presence of Federal Minister Annette Schavan and the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Martin Zeil, Clariant CEO Hariolf Kottmann declared: "The inauguration of the new plant marks an important milestone in the production of a climate-friendly biofuel that can also be used as a raw material for the chemical industry." Kottmann appealed to politicians and industrialists to draw lessons from the failed start-up of biofuel E10 and to seek open dialogue with all interested parties. "Only when society recognizes the environmental benefits of climate-friendly biofuels can second-generation bioethanol be successful ." Kottmann called for stable and reliable framework conditions and an extension of the tax exemption status for second-generation biofuels beyond 2015.
Professor Andre Koltermann, Head of Clariant's Biotech & Renewables Center, added: "We have been developing the sunliquid technology since 2006 and have been testing the method on a pilot scale since 2009." In an area encompassing approximately 2,500 square meters, all the process steps will be performed that will later be used in an industrial-scale plant; the aim of which is to confirm the technological feasibility of the sunliquid technique. "The results we obtain in Straubing will enable us to plan industrial production plants efficiently and economically, and ultimately to realize such plants in cooperation with partners," continued Koltermann.
The sunliquid process is an innovative biotechnological method that turns plant waste products such as grain straw and corn straw into second-generation cellulose ethanol.
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