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• LEVEL II

Will The World Buy a Better Energy Solution?

Gulf’s new technology delivers faster processing of cellulose into sugars!

The next wave of alternative biofuels to hit America is cellulosic ethanol. Using food to make transportation fuels didn’t work – it was too expensive. Using non-food cellulose such as switchgrass, sorghum, agricultural and wood waste to make fuels for cars will change everything!

Cellulose must be “pre-processed” to be digested into sugars which produce ethanol. Gulf delivers an answer that solves the challenge of effective preprocessing according to recent lab tests. Tests show more free sugars and a 400% faster processing time for feed-stocks processed in Gulf’s unit.

What is the question? How do you efficiently turn long cellulose molecules into sugars on a commercial scale at reasonable cost?

The Answer? The first step to producing large quantities of cellulosic ethanol is to “preprocess” the feedstock so it can be digested into sugars using enzymes or microbes.

The Solution? GAEC! Lab tests now show that Gulf’s pre-processing technology produces tiny 10 micron particles of cellulosic material that process into sugars 400% faster than the control samples!

A Cellulosic Future

Cost effective cellulosic ethanol is the future of biofuels. The U.S. has 30 Billion tons of non-food cellulose that can be turned into transportation fuels each year. This will reduce oil imports significantly. These are fuels made in America! Fuels that don’t run out – because biomass can be grown right here at home. It is a long term answer to America’s energy needs.

How cellulose works:

• Biomass, such as switchgrass, sorghum and agricultural and wood waste is collected and delivered to a processing plant.
• These feed-stocks are pre-processed into a fine powder small enough to be converted into sugars using enzymes and bacteria.
• The cellulosic particles are digested into sugars – a process that often takes 24-36 hours without effective preprocessing.
• The sugars are then fermented into alcohol – just like making moonshine.
• The mash is then distilled to separate the pure ethanol from the process materials.

The Change is Coming. Federal law now requires nearly 10% ethanol content in most gasoline sold at the pump. Most new cars are now equipped to run on up to 85% ethanol in gasoline. Why?

1. Because regulators know that more oil shortages and price spikes are coming.
2. They know that America must begin producing more of its own transportation fuels.
3. They know we cannot continue to send hundreds of billions of dollars to middle east countries to support our thirst for oil.
4. They know that we can grow our own fuels here at home in the near future.

Gulf is now positioned to be an integrated part of this exploding new energy future for America. Effective pre-processing unlocks the key to effective cellulosic ethanol.

Gulf delivers effective green technology today.

U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center - Ethanol

Plants contain the cellulosic materials cellulose and hemicellulose. These complex polymers form the structure of plant stalks, leaves, trunks, branches, and husks. They are also in products made from plants, such as paper. Cellulosic feedstocks contain sugars within their cellulose and hemicellulose, but they are more difficult to biochemically convert into ethanol than starch- and sugar-based feedstocks. Cellulose resists being broken down into its component sugars. Hemicellulose is easier to break down, but the resulting sugars are difficult to ferment. The plant compound lignin also resists biochemical conversion.

Developing processes to break down these components of biomass economically has been the focus of research by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other government and industry groups. Significant progress has resulted in biochemical conversion processes to break down cellulose and hemicellulose and thermochemical conversion processes to break down lignin. Together, these processes could unlock the potential of cellulosic feedstocks for ethanol production. They are being demonstrated in six DOE-supported commercial biorefineries.

Take a look at recent investments made by some of the richest and most successful people in the world:

• Bill Gates, the richest man in America, allocated $84 million into Pacific Ethanol, Inc.
• Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group and worth an estimated $3 billion, has plans to invest $300 to $400 million to produce and market this promising alternative fuel. He says, “This is the win-win fuel of the future.”
• Vinod Khosla, “guru” of Silicon Valley, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and one of ethanol’s most vocal advocates, has invested millions of his own dollars in private companies involved in the development of ethanol.

What’s more, industry titans are recognizing the value of providing the American public with an alternative.

• Wal-Mart announced that it is considering offering corn-based ethanol at its 383 gas stations throughout the U.S.
• Not to be left behind, several Big Oil companies, including Shell and Exxon Mobil, are funding ethanol research.

A booming industry, to be sure! It will only get bigger from here...

Factors Driving Alternative Energy Investments

• FREEDOM FROM FOREIGN OIL: Ethanol could free America from its reluctant dependence on foreign oil. This is not a pipedream, conjured up by some pro-U.S. idealists. Not at all. Brazil has turned that vision into reality, where 70% of the vehicles in that country are sustained on ethanol. Brazil's ethanol plan has successfully replaced imported oil worth an estimated $120 billion. To put it into perspective, this would translate to a savings of about $2 trillion for an economy equivalent in size to the U.S.
• INCREASED INCOME TO U.S. FARMERS: In terms of economics, there is no clearer choice for the American public. It would mean higher farm incomes and we would see a steep increase in rural employment.
• THE TECHNOLOGY’S IN PLACE NOW: The technology to run cars on ethanol already exists. General Motors alone has built more than 1.5 million ethanol-compliant vehicles.
• IT’S RIDING THE “GREEN WAVE”: And let’s not ignore the fact that ethanol is believed to be much more environmentally friendly than our current petroleum. Many experts agree that a switch from gasoline to ethanol could significantly reduce our carbon dioxide emissions, some say by as much as 80%. Ethanol’s appeal extends throughout interest groups. The U.S. government, American car manufacturers, environmentalists and the agriculture industry are all strong supporters of this alternative fuel.

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