Xyleco's Technology

Xyleco is the world's leading expert in using plant biomass as a resource for humanity. Xyleco’s technology:

• overcomes cellulosic recalcitrance cleanly and cost effectively.
• allows nearly all of the sugars contained in non-food plant biomass to be obtained and transformed into other useful materials suitable for consumer and industrial use.
• is protected by a broad patent portfolio.

Approximately half of plant biomass is sugar (primarily glucose and xylose). These sugars have historically been unreachable as they are locked away within the structure of plant biomass itself and are protected by lignin, a highly resistant organic material. The inability to easily reach these sugars is referred to as cellulosic recalcitrance.

Xyleco’s Natural Force technology can be summarized as an inexpensive and rapid three-step process:

The size and shape of the biomass feedstock is reduced.

This process doubles the porosity and surface area of the feedstock material enhancing the effectiveness of the remaining processes.

Electrons are applied to restructure biomass feedstock.

This unique step separates Xyleco from its competitors and is critical to the effectiveness and elegance of its technology. This step is fast, clean and inexpensive.

Xyleco’s enzymes are added to further break down the polysaccharide chains in the feedstock material and obtain sugars.

These sugars can then be turned into numerous products using well known industrial processes.

Xyleco’s technology uses sustainable, non-food agricultural waste as a raw material. Therefore, no additional land, water or other resources are required to grow the renewable feedstock. The only incremental resources required are for the collection of this agricultural waste. In addition, Xyleco’s processing technology uses no harsh chemicals and very little water.

As a result, products made using Xyleco’s technology are without precedent in terms of their environmental benefits.

For example, the global warming potential of ethanol produced using Xyleco’s technology is 83% lower than gasoline and 77% lower than corn ethanol.