RITE and Idemitsu to advance process to make biochemicals

The Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE) and Idemitsu Kosan have agreed to join forces to develop a RITE process into a method for the commercial production of bioethanol from non-edible cellulosic biomass. The Kyoto-based research institute has a bench-scale process for the production of chemicals from a mixture of C5 and C6 sugars made by the glycosylation of biomass resources like rice straw. RITE’s process uses corynebacteria in an anaerobic environment to metabolize C5 and C6 sugars into organic chemicals such as ethanol, propanol, butanol, aromatics and carboxylic acid. (August 10, 2009)