Biomass recycles carbon from the air and spares the use of fossil fuels, reducing the need to pump additional fossil carbon from the ground into the atmosphere.  Biomass comes from green plants which actively absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it into sugars, which are then stored in long molecules like cellulose. Eventually this plant carbon is returned to the atmosphere by natural decay processes, including the breakdown of cellulose.

      We can intervene in this process by breaking down cellulose to glucose in biomass processing plants, then converting the sugars to cellulosic ethanol, which is a substitute for gasoline. Using ethanol made from biomass sugars reduces the need for fossil fuels like gasoline. Ethanol can also be used to power fuel cells, and is easier to store and distribute than gaseous hydrogen.  Biomass can also be burned to produce electricity, or gasified to produce a non-fossil substitute for natural gas.

     Biomass is an abundant and underutilized resource which remains to be effectively used on a commercial and societal scale.  Green plants produce an estimated 1 trillion metric tons of cellulose every year. Using even a fraction of this for fuel ethanol and biogas could begin to reduce our yearly addition of more fossil carbon to the atmosphere, slowing the increase in global warming, and providing additional domestic energy supplies and jobs.  Worldwide, the use of biomass could provide social and economic benefits to many countries and reduce their dependence on imported oil, while lowering their emissions of CO2 from fossil carbon.

     General Biomass offers scientific and technical consulting for cellulosic ethanol, biorefineries, and production of fuels and chemicals from biomass. We have substantial experience in technology development, patent evaluation, grant writing, grant evaluation and project management. Specific experience includes a strong knowledge of biomass structure and chemistry, cellulases and other hydrolytic enzymes, pretreatments, and ethanol plant economics. Consulting services are available in confidence and at a reasonable price.