The Finnish pulp and paper company, Stora Enso Oyj, is investing USD $43 million in a demonstration and market development plant that will be built in Raceland, Louisiana. This news comes soon after the company’s acquisition of the American biotechnology company, Virdia.
The facility will be used for industrial validation of the newly acquired extraction and separation technology that has been developed by Virdia. The technology enables cellulosic biomass, such as wood, to be converted into highly refined sugars.
The plant will be situated near existing sugar-cane plantations and will use bagasse waste as feedstock. Sugar cane bagasse is a sustainable, non-genetically-modified feedstock that does not compete with food. It will be used to produce high purity five-carbon sugars and in particular xylose.
The demonstration plant is already scheduled to begin production as early as the beginning of 2017.