Research & Development
R&D at Nedalco focuses on future second-generation fuel ethanol production.
Second-generation feedstocks generally contain cellulose, hemicellulose and varying amounts of lignin. These compounds are all interlinked to a firm biostructure. The stability of the structure is directly proportional to the amount of lignin present.
Breaking down the biomass of the feedstocks and producing ethanol is a three-step process (see the figure above). The first step is pretreatment to release the three different components from each other. The second step is the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose into glucose and of hemicellulose into the C5 sugars xylose and arabinose. In certain situations, this second step is not required. The third step is fermenting the monomeric sugars into ethanol. Processing of stillage may also require some special attention.
