Using corn to produce ethanol? That is so early-2008. CleanTech Biofuels, Inc. has announced their latest successful initiative involves converting cellulose to ethanol.

The company is now able to generate fermentable sugar from municipal solid waste, as part of their exclusive sub-license agreement with the University of California, Berkeley. The development is the first milestone in a series, which involves CleanTech paying the university for the validation and commercialization of the technology.

So what exactly does it involve?

The patented technology, initially developed and tested at the University of California, Berkeley, utilizes nitric acid for hydrolyzing cellulosic material, rather than sulfuric or hydrochloric acid, for the production of ethanol and other fuels from biomass in municipal solid waste. Sulfuric or hydrochloric acid is typically used in the industry for hydrolyzing biomass; however, CleanTech believes that nitric acid hydrolysis represents the cutting edge of current technology in the cellulosic ethanol industry.

The jury is still out on whether the use of corn in the production of ethanol contributed to a global food crisis this year, so any new developments that could potentially remove some of the pressure on the food industry can be viewed as a positive one.

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