This is my first ever post to the gasification group. However the Range fuels failure was predictable, and is worth a response . The Range fuels failure discussed on gasification listserv brings up the 40-year old question of whether cellulosic ethanol by any path can really work commercially. I have been working on this for (believe it or not) almost 40 years.
I have been mostly in biofuels --digestion recently. Also looking (skeptically) at such things as cellulosic ethanol, algal biofuel, and in depth (more than possible to detail here) at small-scale gasification to produce clean motor fuel. As an academic credential I have coursework and qualifiers and all but dissertation for a Ph. D from MIT (if you want to believe that sort of credential) . I also have over 30 years' experience in fieldwork on biofuels, see for example World Bank site presentation at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTUSWM/Resources/Angenstein_controll...
AND
I have looked at cellulosic ethanol in great depth, over the 30+ year time span as an employee of Exxon Research and Engineering, the Electric Power Research Institute and IEM. (independently)
SO
From my original analysis along with coworkers' help. I and we see no way that cellulosic ethanol can be commercially feasible. I attach a Power Point presentation we gave in Vancouver BC in 2006. The presentation makes that case. I also append below a brief writeup by John Benemann on The Oil Drum which makes the same points. Nothing has changed to the present. The failure of Range fuels, and failure of dozens of other cellulosic ethanol projects to come to fruition would vindicate our conclusions.
The problem is that getting the community's attention about problems, when enthusiasm abounds and over $10 billion are being thrown at fantasies, is extremely hard when you are in the 5% or less minority of naysayers
Don Augenstein
IEM, Inc. (nonprofit)
Palo Alto California
