PREPARING MORE MARKETS FOR BIOFUEL BY-PRODUCTS

In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near Golden, Colorado, Pure Vision Technology is making lignin - a natural compound that helps provide strength in plants. In cellulosic ethanol processing lignin is burned for heat and steam for the process and is worth around $40/ton. Pure Vision has devised

Ed Lehrburger, Pure Vision's founder, believes his lignin could sell for $300/ton or more, reports The New York Times. His company is collaborating with a wood and paper products manufacturer that would use the lignin for a bio-based glue. "Lignin will be one of the big drivers of the switch from oil-based to biobased products," predicts Lehrburger.

Meanwhile, Ronald Holser, at the USDA research center in Athens, Georgia, is growing laboratory prototypes for biodegradable weed barriers and sticky films that hold grass seeds on the ground long enough to germinate. They would be used for a by-product of biodiesel fuel called glycerol. That would help transform the biodiesel industry into a close resemblance of the petroleum industry where fuel is just one of many profitable products.