Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol fuel produced from agricultural residues such as corn stover (that is, the leftover stalk, cobs, leaves, and husks), switchgrass, wheat straw, or non-edible parts of plants. It gained much attention because its feedstock can be grown anywhere and can be sourced from
agricultural crop residues. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that more than one billion tons of biomass feedstock are available for use in the United States annually (USDA, 2011). Corn starch from corn and sugars from sugarcane are the most common feedstocks for ethanol production. However, the production of cellulosic ethanol requires advanced technologies to break down cellulose into ethanol, unlike corn-based ethanol production occurring mostly in the United States and sugarcane-based ethanol production occurring mostly in Brazil.
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