Alternative energy firm Gulf Ethanol has signed definitive agreements to acquire cellulose feed-stock processing technology for ethanol plants. The process, developed by Meridian BioRefining, converts non-food biomass into powdered cellulose, which is claimed to produce better results when processed into ethanol.

Gulf Ethanol owns the exclusive rights to this technology for the processing of ethanol feed-stocks and will partner with Meridian for engineering, design and implementation of the technology.

JT Cloud, CEO of Gulf Ethanol, said: The future of ethanol as a fuel additive and as an alternative to imported oil depends on developing large-scale ethanol production from cellulose, rather than food stocks. Cellulose is the most plentiful plant substance on earth. Converting this much cheaper biomass into ethanol gives us a real option for reducing a portion of our dependence on foreign oil.