Cellulosic ethanol company ZeaChem on Thursday announced a $34 million second round of funding co-led by Globespan Capital Partners, Praire Gold Venture Partners, and with participation from Firelake Capital, MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Valero Energy.

The funding will go toward the construction of a cellulosic ethanol biorefinery.

The company utilizes a hybrid method to convert biomass into cellulosic ethanol. It first runs a fermentation process with acetogen, a bacterium found in termites that eats up most biomass and produces no CO2. The diverse range of matter it can consume means that plant matter only needs to be replanted every 15 years.

ZeaChem runs a parallel gasification process on lignin, the chemical compound found in the cell walls of plants, and produces hydrogen. Both lines are then converged in a process called hydrogenation, which leads to cellulosic ethanol.

The process is unique to ZeaChem, allowing the company to produce 40 percent more biofuel than other companies.

“The gasification process [alone] works well to break down molecules, but it isn’t as efficient,” ZeaChem CEO Jim Imbler said.

He said that the hybrid approach, as well as the company’s use of the efficient and environment-friendly acetogen, gives ZeaChem its advantage in the field and pushes its technology to “third generation.”

Unlike with corn-based ethanol, the company specifically harnesses non-food biomass, including woodchips and switchgrass, to produce its biofuel.The cellulosic ethanol, then, sidesteps the “food vs. fuel” debate about whether or not more land should be dedicated to cultivating crops for fuel.