Industry loses Katzen, a cellulosic ethanol visionary

Ethanol Producer Magazine | August 2009
By Hope Deutscher
Report posted July 16, 2009, at 1:13 p.m. CST

On July 12, Dr. Raphael “Ray” Katzen passed away at the age of 93. Katzen was an ethanol pioneer who dedicated his life to competitively producing cellulosic ethanol from a variety of feedstock sources.

While working at a defense plant under federal government contract during World War II, Katzen saw the potential for cellulosic ethanol technologies. In 1955, he founded Raphael Katzen Associates International, a U.S.-based technology company with projects all across the globe. In the 1970s, when the U.S. DOE was interested in helping to develop a U.S. fuel ethanol industry based on corn, the department turned to Katzen and his company.

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