Since industrial paper sludge has already been subjected to an extensive mechanical and chemical processing, polysaccharides in recycled paper sludge should be much more amenable to enzymatic hydrolysis, compared to raw wood or plant material. “Our sludge-to-ethanol process avoids costly pretreatments to make paper industry sludge more amenable to enzymes and is less energy intensive compared to other lignocellulosic biomass-to-ethanol pathways,” Venditti stated. “Based on our business model, we believe that our development work can provide practical information to investors and technology developers for a short-term commercial pathway for cellulosic ethanol production.”