New Zealand firms to engage in cellulosic research

New Zealand’s Scion and AgResearch are working with U.S.-based Diversa Corporation to develop transport fuels based on cellulosic ethanol from forestry and agricultural waste. Diversa has developed an enzyme process that converts wood into sugars, which can then be fermented and refined into ethanol and other products. The technical challenge in making cellulosic ethanol is to convert the complex carbohydrates in cellulose into simple sugars that can be easily fermented. This is complicated by the presence of lignin, which acts as a fermentation inhibitor. (May 30, 2007)