CORN STOVER AND THE PACE OF CELLULOSIC ETHANOL COMMERCIALIZATION

The report examines the environmental, logistic, and infrastructural barriers to commercializing cellulosic ethanol from corn stover in the US, concluding that the country will likely fall short of RFS2 mandates.

• Corn stover is the most available current cellulosic feedstock in the US, but its availability is limited by the need to leave approximately 3.5 tons per acre to maintain soil fertility, carbon, and prevent runoff.
• Depending on the environmental standards applied, the near-term potential for ethanol production from corn stover through 2020 is estimated to be between 670 million and 4 billion gallons, which is at most one-fourth of the RFS2 requirement.
• The Corn Belt contains the highest yielding acreages for both grain and stover, with an average available stover density of 0.82 tons per acre, though this is subject to significant year-to-year variability.
• Logistical challenges include the need for new, heavier equipment for simultaneous grain and stover harvest, increased soil compaction, and the risk of snowfall in northern Corn Belt regions degrading stover quality.
• The infrastructure required to meet the 16 billion gallon RFS2 mandate is considered impossible to achieve by 2022, as it would require approximately 200 biorefineries with a total capital cost potentially as high as $200 billion.
• A single 80-million GPY biorefinery is estimated to cost between $500 million and $1 billion and would take approximately 24 months from project design to operation.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2013). CORN STOVER AND THE PACE OF CELLULOSIC ETHANOL COMMERCIALIZATION. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093501/20130405-CATF-White-Paper-Corn-Stover-and-the-Pace-of-Cellulosic-Commercialization.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. CORN STOVER AND THE PACE OF CELLULOSIC ETHANOL COMMERCIALIZATION. 2013. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093501/20130405-CATF-White-Paper-Corn-Stover-and-the-Pace-of-Cellulosic-Commercialization.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=CORN STOVER AND THE PACE OF CELLULOSIC ETHANOL COMMERCIALIZATION |date=April 2013 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093501/20130405-CATF-White-Paper-Corn-Stover-and-the-Pace-of-Cellulosic-Commercialization.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2013corn, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{CORN STOVER AND THE PACE OF CELLULOSIC ETHANOL COMMERCIALIZATION}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093501/20130405-CATF-White-Paper-Corn-Stover-and-the-Pace-of-Cellulosic-Commercialization.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }