Main
Cellulose Sciences International (CSI) was established in 2007. Its Mission is to develop innovative methods for the utilization of native celluloses, our most abundant renewable resources, both for the production of renewable energy and as feedstocks in the production of commercially viable cellulosic materials.
Background
The primary feedstock in the production of ethanol is glucose. It is the basic building block of both cellulose and starch. Both occur in all plant biomass, the cellulose as the key structural component of cell walls and the starch as the primary form of storage of glucose. Starch has been the favored feedstock for the production of glucose for fermentation to ethanol and other biofuels because it is easy to disassemble into glucose. Cellulose is inherently more difficult to convert to glucose because of its resistance to disassembly by enzymes or acids.
The key technologies targeted by CSI have as their foundation patented processes for producing celluloses in decrystallized, very accessible and reactive intermediate states that are stable, particularly in water alone or with water and some co-solvents.
Chief Scientific Officer
The Chief Scientific Officer of CSI, who has 40 years of experience in research on celluloses, has pioneered the application of Raman spectroscopy and Solid State 13C NMR spectroscopy for characterizing the molecular organization of celluloses, both in their native states and after modification by traditional industrial processes. In the course of studies in the 1970s he developed methods for creating high degrees of decrystallization and disorder in celluloses, whether in their native state or as commercially available pulps. These decrystallized states are much less resistant to disassembly by enzymes or acid. In 2007 these processes were adapted for producing glucose that can be fermented into ethanol or many of the new 2nd generation advanced biofuels. The glucose can also be converted to hydrocarbons by catalytic processes or by organisms developed through metabolic engineering.
Novelty of CSI Approach
The novelty of the processes developed by CSI is that the enhanced reactivity can be accomplished with commercially available reagents that are far more attractive than procedures previously described in the scientific literature for the preparation of highly reactive celluloses.
Collaborations and Partnerships
Because the opportunities for the utilization of cellulose are manifold, CSI will be open to collaboration and partnerships with institutions committed to utilization of our planet’s most abundant renewable resource.
