Softwood forest thinnings as a biomass source for ethanol production: a feasibility study for California.

A plan has been put forth to strategically thin northern California forests to reduce fire danger and improve forest health. The resulting biomass residue, instead of being open burned, can be converted into ethanol that can be used as a fuel oxygenate or an octane enhancer. Economic potential for a biomass-to-ethanol facility using this softwood biomass was evaluated for two cases: stand-alone and co-located.

The effect of overliming on the toxicity of dilute acid pretreated lignocellulosics: the role of inorganics, uronic acids and ether-soluble organics.

Although the treatment of dilute acid pretreated lignocellulosics with calcium hydroxide or carbonate (overliming) is known to improve the fermentability of carbohydrate-rich hydrolyzate streams, a firm understanding of the chemistry behind the process is lacking. Quantitative evaluation of inorganics, uronic acids, and non-polar organics indicates that only a portion of the improvement can be ascribed to these materials. Upon overliming the concentrations of inorganics either increase (Ca, Mg), decrease (Fe, P, Zn, K) or remain relatively the same (Al, Na).