Plastic and Fuel that Grow on Trees
May 22, 2009| |
Scientists have long dreamed of finding a way to replace crude oil as the root source for plastic, fuels and other industrial and household chemicals with environment-friendly alternatives. Recently, researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory made a major advance by converting a ubiquitous sugar to a primary building block for fuel and polyesters. Z. Conrad Zhang and colleagues devised a way to convert glucose, nature's most abundant sugar, into hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a promising surrogate for petroleum-based chemicals. The most abundant source of glucose is plant biomass.
"Getting a commercially viable yield of HMF from glucose has been very challenging," Zhang said. "In addition to low yield until now, we always generate many different byproducts making product purification expensive and uncompetitive with petroleum-based chemicals."
For more information, read the complete article at http://www.pnl.gov/news/release.asp?id=255
| |
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- PGE Study: Positive Socio-Economic and Environmental Contributions from GM Crops
- UN-Supported Project to Benefit Burundi’s Small Farmers
- Discussion on Implications of GM Crops for Small-holder African Farmers
- UV Exposure Makes Lettuce Healthier
- Ontario Invests $3.2 Million in Genomics Research
- A Sweet Idea: Converting Watermelon Juice into Ethanol
- Candidate Sites for Crop Biofortification in Latin America
- Peru Holds its First National Biotech Conference
- Limited Release of GM Sugarcane in Australia
- Study of Plant Viruses in SI White Clover Pastures
- Malaysian Scientists Successful in Cracking Oil Palm Genome
- Malaysia to Announce Regulation Framework Under Biosafety Act
- Victoria Forges Alliance with Dow Agro
- Aberystwyth University Lands UK Grant to Sequence Ryegrass Genome
-
Research Highlights
- Biotech Rice to Prevent Hypertension
- Scientists Take Step Forward Toward Developing HIV Vaccine
- Plastic and Fuel that Grow on Trees
- Pea-Derived Vaccine Against Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease
-
Announcements
- ISAAA Video on "Knowledge, Technology & Poverty Alleviation" Available in 14 Languages
- TWAS Regional Young Scientists’ Conference
- Global Crop Protection Summit
- BCP Congress in Glasgow
- Plant Biotechnology Conference in Africa
-
Resources
- FAO: How to Run an Agribusiness
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (April 24, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (April 24, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet