FAQ & Glossary
FAQ
Virtually any biomass, including grasses and agricultural wastes, are first milled and then combined with our catalyst. From there, the product runs through our CTS Reactor, where the cellulose is broken down into soluble sugars that can be converted into ethanol through a fermentation process. Additionally, a byproduct of this process is a high purity lignin.
Blue Biofuels does not intend to completely replace fossil fuels. However, our uncomplicated, highly-efficient cellulose-to-sugar (CTS) process allows us to meet the growing demand for biofuels set by the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the RFS is a federal program that requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuel.
Presently, the cellulosic requirements are not being met, due to the lack of capacity of existing second-generation biofuel producers.
Plants capture CO2 from the atmosphere while growing, which is then released back into the atmosphere during consumption. As a result, Blue Biofuels creates a near carbon neutral biofuel.
Fossil fuels, on the other hand, pull carbon that has been trapped underground, which introduces new greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Blue Biofuels uses abundant cellulosic materials as feedstock — whether grass, wood chips or your latest yard cleanout — to convert into renewable biofuel.
From fast-growing, high-yield crops to agricultural waste, such as bagasse from the sugarcane industry, these feedstocks reduce our dependence on water and fertilizer. And unlike corn, our process consumes the entire plant for fuel, instead of just the starches and sugars in the seed of the plant.
The United States is investing highly in the biofuel industry, in an effort to stimulate the economy, reduce foreign energy dependence and combat climate change.
The U.S. EPA offers an incentive renewable credit (RIN) for each gallon of fuel produced from renewable resources.
The incentive for D3 RIN, or cellulosic biofuel, is currently $3.00/gallon as of September 2022.
The ethanol we produce is not meant for airplanes. However, through the Vertimass Process, we can convert our product into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Presently, sustainable aviation fuels from cellulosic ethanol do not exist in appreciable amounts.
GLOSSARY
Biomass: organic matter used as a fuel, such as wheat straw, wood chips or crop waste
BTEX: Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylenes, a widely used building block from which hundreds of consumer products ranging from pharmaceuticals to paints and plastics are made
CTS: cellulose-to-sugar
Cellulose: An insoluble complex carbohydrate that forms the main structure of plant cell walls and vegetable fibers
Ethanol: A two-carbon alcohol that can be produced by fermentation of natural sugars and can also be burned as fuel.
Feedstocks: Plant-based materials — often raw or unprocessed — used in the cellulose-to-sugar process that becomes converted to biofuel.
GHG – Greenhouse gas: A gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions: The aggregate quantity of greenhouse gas emissions (direct and indirect, such as emissions from land use changes) related to fuel lifecycle, which includes all stages of fuel and feedstock production and distribution
Lignin: An organic polymer found in the cell walls of plants, which acts as a binder for cellulose fibers, adding strength to the plant cell wall
Mechanochemistry: The use of mechanical and chemical energy to facilitate chemical reactions
RINS D3: Cellulosic biofuel, these RINs are generated by blending ethanol made from cellulosic, plant-based materials into gasoline
Vertimass Process: Technology available from Vertimass, a company focused on sustainable aviation fuels, that can convert ethanol into jet fuel and diesel fuel
