ZeaChem up for $4.6M award from California Energy Commission
By Christina Williams
Sustainable Business Oregon editor
ZeaChem, which operates a biofuels plant in Boardman, was approved for a $4.6 million award from the California Energy Commission to develop another plant in Northern California.
Biorefinery company ZeaChem Inc. announced Thursday it is poised to receive a $4.6 million award from the California Energy Commission for work at its Menlo Park, Calif., research and development facility.
The award, which still has to be officially approved by the commission, would support further development of the pilot plant for production of advanced biofuels. It will also cover the costs of a feasibility study to analyze pace of market acceptance the fuel in the regional supply chain and gauge the potential for commercial-scale biorefinery in Northern California.
ZeaChem operates a pilot facility in Boardman and has plans to develop a commercial-scale plant there. The technology used there produces cellulose-based aecetic acid, ehtyl acetate, ethanol jet fuel and diesel using feedstocks including woody biomass and agricultural waste.
The technology being developed in California can produce biofuels with a chemical structure that's identical to petroleum-based gas.
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