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News and Trends[Top]
MIT Experts Look at the Prospects and Challenges of Cellulose Ethanol Technology Chemical engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have recently looked into the prospects and new research areas in the production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass. In the 2007 February 9 issue of the journal, Science, Professor Gregory Stephanopoulos states that there is “justified optimism” that the realization of a sustainable biofuels production from cellulosic biomass could be attained in the next ten to 15 years. New developments in metabolic engineering have opened new avenues for harnessing the biochemical machinery of cells for improved ethanol production. In a United States Senate hearing on biofuels, Assistant Professor Kristala Jones Prather said that “Biofuels represent a grand challenge in technology”. More research will be needed to realize the full potential of cellulose ethanol. Among the mentioned advantages of cellulosic material as biofuel feedstock are: (1) abundance and (2) better energy balance for ethanol production compared to corn. The need for coordinated research in agriculture (for the development of new crops), molecular biology/biochemistry (for better microorganisms and bioprocesses for the conversion of cellulose to ethanol), and engineering (for the development better fuel engines) was also highlighted. [Top]
Cell-Growth-Cycle Studies in Cancer Research Spawns Technology for Increasing Biofuel Crop Yields Studies aimed at slowing down the growth of tumor cells have sparked an idea to utilize a reverse technique for extending the growth cycle in plants. This technique could be eventually harnessed for research into increasing crop yields in biofuel crops like canola, soya and corn. Targeted Growth Incorporated (TGI), a company which licenses the technology from the Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, uses techniques for manipulating the genetic code of the plant, so that the cells continue dividing “past the ordinary stopping point”. This was shown to result in increased seed size and seed count, with as much as 20% increase in crop yield. A booming biofuels market has led the company to invest in the technology for helping the United States meet the biofuel crop demands in an efficient and sustainable manner”. [Top]
Termite Gut as Source of Novel Enzymes or Microorganisms for Wood/Cellulose Conversion to Ethanol Termites are known to be efficient converters of wood cellulose into fermentable sugars. This first step is the same as in the production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass (cellulose must first be converted to sugars before the ethanol fermentation step). Termites can reportedly achieve a 95% “wood-to-sugar” bioconversion efficiency (within 24 hours), utilizing the biochemical machineries of microbial communities living in their hind guts. A collaborative scientific team (from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Diversa and California Institute of Technology) is using “metagenomics” to sequence and analyze functional genes of microbial communities living in the termite gut. This would lead to the discovery or development of new enzymes or microorganisms that would be useful for the production of cellulose ethanol. The Joint Genome Institute researchers have already identified a novel cellulase (an enzyme which breaks down cellulose into the sugar, glucose). Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Production[Top]
Forest Tree Flowers from “Mahula” as Substrates for Ethanol Fermentation The flowers of the forest tree, mahula (Madhuca latifolia L.), is said to have high levels of fermentable sugars which could be harnessed as potential substrates for ethanol fermentation. At the Regional Center of the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute in India, researchers studied the fermentation of this substrate using free and immobilized cells of Saccharomyces cerevisae. In batch flask experiments, they obtained product yields between 148 g ethanol/kg to 205 g ethanol/kg. [Top]
Collaborative Research Project to Develop Bioconversion of Sugar Beet Pulp and Wheat Bran to Ethanol Dyadic International, Inc (a biotechnology company) and Royal Nedalco (a leading European producer of ethanol) have announced a research collaboration to develop bioconversion technologies to convert sugar beet and wheat bran to ethanol. One of the research areas will be the development of enzyme preparations for bioconversion. According to Dr. Jan Verdoes, Research Director of Dyadic Nederland BV, low value (i.e., low raw material cost) and high carbohydrate content are among the attractive features of sugar beet and wheat bran as biofuel feedstocks. There is a need, however, to overcome some technical challenges to develop cost effective enzyme preparations for the bioconversion. This is one of the objectives of the research. Funding will come from the Netherlands government (Ministry of Economic Affairs). The academic collaboration will involve Wageningen University (characterization of enzyme-treated materials) , Delft University (fermentation engineering) and Energy Research Center of the Netherlands (process modeling and economics). Biofuels Processing[Top]
Waste Vegetable Oil and Animal Fat for Biodiesel Processing Waste vegetable oil and animal fat from food service industries can be considered as an untapped source for biofuels. Through a process called “transesterification”, these can be converted to “cleaner-burning” biodiesel. BiOil, a biodiesel company in California plans to collect some of the estimated 3.9 billion gallons of waste vegetable oil from fast food eateries by building a national network of disposal centers. The collected oil would then be refined and processed to biodiesel and sold to trucking companies and drivers. Biofuels Policy and Economics[Top]
Biofuels Scenario in Asia Assessed A report from the Philippine Ethanol Alliance gives an update on the biofuels scenario in Asia, based on the following factors: (1) major Asian biofuel crops/feedstocks, (2) Asian biofuels market, and (3) challenges in the emerging Asian biofuels sector. Some of the report highlights are: (1) Asian Biofuel Crops/Feedstocks: ethanol, sugarcane juice and molasses are mentioned as the major saccharine raw materials (India, Philippines), while cassava is an established starchy material in Thailand. For biodiesel, palm oil is the major feedstock in Indonesia and Malaysia, while coconut is used in the Philippines. Alternative biofuel crops which veer away from the “food or fuel” dilemma are sweet sorghum (in place of sugarcane) and Jatropha (in place of coconut). (2) Biofuels market in Asia: The report observes that the Asian biofuels market is generally driven by government support policy to address concerns in energy security (fluctuating fossil fuels market), environment (better air quality), and support for agriculture (markets for surplus crops and by-products). Government policy is usually in the form of national mandates to blend biofuels in gasoline. (the proportion varies with country). (3) Challenges in the emerging Asian biofuels sector: Three major considerations were identified: (a) policy sustainability to address needs for infrastructure support, i.e., biofuels facilities, engines (b) supply reliability to address concerns of “food or fuel” dilemma, dangers of monoculture crop systems, etc and (c) economics for reducing the cost of biofuels. [Top]
Deriving Environmental Benefits from Corn Ethanol Production Needs Careful Management Corn ethanol, like many biomass-derived fuels, is known to generate lesser greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuels. However, according to Professor Bruce Dale at Michigan State University, careful planning must be done to “fully realize the environmental potential of biofuels. A case in point is the release of nitrous oxide (a more potent greenhouse gas relative to carbon dioxide) from the production of ethanol from corn grain. The analysis was made based on life cycle analysis and agro system modelling, on information from corn production methods in eight states in the United States. Careful management for minimizing nitrous oxide emissions in corn ethanol production would greatly improve its greenhouse emission profile. Among the mitigating measures mentioned is the planting of winter cover crops, such as rye grass. |
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