Patenting Trend Shows Shift to Non-Food Bioresources for Biofuels

Indian researchers reported in the journal Recent Patents on DNA and Gene Sequences an application of patent analytics as tool to track the technological trend in biofuels research and development.

A marked increase in the number of published patents related to the application of genetic engineering for biofuel development has been noted in the past 2 to 3 years. Data mining through a set of 1243 patent documents related to transgenic technology for biofuel production generated a theme map that helped the researchers to visualize the trends and relationships within the patent landscape. The researchers analyzed within a conceptualized framework the trends in transgene application, feedstock development and the processes used to generate the various bioenergy products.

A detailed analysis of patent claims showed highest interest in biofuel source followed by feedstock component wherein 27 percent of patents for whole organisms cover major biofuel crops and microorganisms. Patents for biofuel sources primarily cover microorganism (45%) and oil crops (33%) and only 8% cover sugar and grain crops, indicating an emphasis on exploring non-food bioresources for biofuels production.