MSU Researchers Crack Corn Waste-to-Fuel Process, Earn Patent

Making biofuel from corn-crop waste just got cheaper, thanks to a new process patented by Michigan State University (MSU).

Doctoral student Ming Lau and professor Bruce Dale have found a way to speed the fermentation that is required to turn products into biofuel. By pretreating corn cobs, stalks and leaves, referred to as “stover,” with ammonia, the cellulose is broken down into fermentable sugars which may then be turned into biofuel, Lau explains.

The MSU process is called ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX). It uses ammonia to break down the cellulose and hemicellulose in plants. The pretreatment process is 75 percent more efficient than when conventional enzymes alone are used, Dale says.

“Reducing the cost of breaking down cellulose into fermentable sugars has been a major issue slowing cellulosic ethanol production,” Dale says.

The next step could be a pilot plant, perhaps at MBI International. MBI, a subsidiary of the MSU Foundation, partners with universities and companies to commercialize technology.

“There are several companies—including the Mascoma Corp. of Boston, which plans to open one of the nation’s first cellulosic ethanol plants here in Michigan—that may be interested in using this technology,” Dale says. “We are working to make the AFEX technology fit these companies’ needs.

Their research is published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Gretchen Cochran, Innovations & Jobs editor, may be reached here.