June 4, 2010, Vancouver – Lignol and Pacific Ethanol are planning to assess the
feasibility of combining corn ethanol plants with next-generation cellulosic
ethanol biorefineries. Lignol Energy Corporation, a cellulosic ethanol and
biorefining technology company, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
between its wholly owned subsidiary, Lignol Innovations Inc., and Pacific
Ethanol Inc., a West Coast marketer and producer of ethanol, to evaluate the
benefits of integrating Lignol’s second-generation biorefinery technology with
Pacific Ethanol’s existing corn ethanol facilities.
Pacific Ethanol seeks to reduce the carbon intensity of the ethanol it produces by
integrating cellulose ethanol into existing operations. Its production
locations are ideally located for the deployment of Lignol’s biorefineries
because of the abundance of woody biomass on the West Coast and regulations to
improve the greenhouse gas profile of ethanol produced and marketed in
California. By deploying Lignol’s proprietary technology within these
established operations, the companies believe there will be significant capital
and operating cost advantages from leveraging existing infrastructure,
logistics, staffing, and partnerships. Lignol expects the benefits of
co-hosting could also significantly improve the timelines for the start-up of
biorefinery operations and further assist Lignol in meeting its objective of
being a low-cost producer of cellulosic ethanol.
Lignol continues to evaluate unique ways to deploy its technology to drive the cost of
cellulosic ethanol lower and exploit its technology platform. The integration
of cellulosic ethanol into existing corn ethanol plants is one such
opportunity. Lignol is also evaluating the feasibility of exploiting the
attributes of its technology within the pulp and paper sector. Lignol’s
fractionation technology produces clean substrates that are ideal inputs for
the cellulosic ethanol, pulp and paper, and green chemical industries. Lignol
reports that it is having early stage discussions with potential partners in
Canada to deploy a version of its technology to address these opportunities.
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