Scientists from three campuses of the University of California are combining efforts with West Biofuels LLC to develop a prototype reactor for the production of an alcohol-based biofuel, without the use of a food-based feedstock and without fermentation. Urban and agricultural cellulosic wastes are the raw materials, and these have the advantage of not having negative impacts on food security/food prices compared to other “food” feedstocks, like corn.  These wastes are also generated in large quantities in California.  Using “heat, sand and catalysts”, the non-biological biomass-to-ethanol process involves three steps.  The first step is the thermochemical treatment of the biomass, where high temperature converts the biomass into “producer gas” (a gas mixture containing methane, hydrogen and carbon dioxide). In the second step, the producer gas is “reformed” by a catalytic reaction, resulting in a product called “synthesis gas” or “syngas” (a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide).  Finally, in the third step, the syngas is catalytically converted to alcohols which can be used as biofuel. West Biofuels LLC will build the one million dollar, 4 ton/day reactor and donate it to the University of California, who will do the testing.  The University of California team, headed by Robert Cattolico (UC Davis Jacobs School of Engineering) will use the test results for the design of a 100 ton/day pilot plant..