Qteros, university patent biofuel production method (Boston)

Cellulosic ethanol technology company Qteros Inc. and the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been granted a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its new ethanol production technology using biomass fermentation.

The patent, called “Systems and Methods for Producing Biofuels and Related Materials,” is based on the company’s Q Microbe, a naturally occurring anaerobic microorganism developed by Qteros founder, UMass Amherst professor and 2009 Mass High Tech Woman to Watch Susan Leschine and research associate Thomas Warnick.

“While traditional cellulosic ethanol processes require numerous production steps, including the addition of costly exogenous enzymes, use of the Q Microbe lowers costs by simultaneously hydrolyzing polysaccharides into simple sugars and fermenting all of these sugars into desirable products in a single-tank operation,” said Qteros senior vice president and CTO Kevin Gray.

Read the full post in Mass High Tech.