Coskata Turns Waste to Ethanol

Coskata, Inc. is a biology-based renewable energy company, with technology for the production of liquid fuels. Using proprietary microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, the company expects to produce ethanol for under US$1.00 per gallon anywhere in the world, from almost any input material (feedstock).

Tubes packed with bundles of white fibers are the core of a bioreactor, which is the heart of their technology that combines thermochemical and biological approaches to make ethanol out of wood chips, household garbage, grass, and old tires--indeed, just about any organic material.

A partnership with GM has given muscle to the company's emergence, now entering the commercialization stage.

How it Works

Carbon-based material (e.g. biomass) goes in the front end, and is converated to syngas through gassification. At that point, non genetic modified bacteria (anaerobic) convert syngas to ethanol. The bacteria are found in nature and are not dangerous if released.

The whole process, from input to output is only about two minutes.



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