IIC Helps Pulp and Paper Industry Find New Future in Biofuels
(April 2011)
As on-line and electronic content continue to push newsprint, direct mail, magazines and catalogs to the same market fate as the horse and buggy, some in the pulp and paper industry are looking to new business models and opportunities. A recent Biofuels Digest article describes how companies are re-thinking their options for the use of pulp, waste streams and facilities. One CEO predicted, "We ultimately see ourselves as an energy company with paper as a byproduct."
Credit: Scott ButnerThe article also described Mercurius Biofuels' work with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Institute for Integrated Catalysis to optimize catalysts for varying waste stream feedstocks. The company's technology uses catalytic conversion to transform biomass to cellulosic diesel. Mercurius' fuel has a high cetane number and excellent flow properties, so it can be used to produce premium blends of petroleum diesel as well as biodiesel. The company has also developed an approach to producing renewable gasoline, jet fuel and chemical products. By 2015, Mercurius plans to produce fuel based on 500 tons of biomass per day.
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