The Technology Review website reports a novel process for transport fuel production from waste biomass by University of Wisconsin scientists (in the United States). "Unwanted by-products (levulinic acid and formic acid) from the breaking of cellulose down into sugar" are the starting materials for the developed thermochemical process. Unlike conventional biological methods for biofuel production, the "Wisconsin process" is reported to have the following advantages: (1) easier to control (since it is a chemical process), and (2) the carbon-dioxide created during its production can be easily captured. The process can be briefly described as follows: The (levulinic and formic) acids in the waste biomass are combined to form gamma-valerolactone, an industrial chemical. Catalysts made of silica and alumina then help convert this to a gas called butene, which is easily converted to liquid hydrocarbon fuels, including gasoline and jet fuel. The high pressure stream of carbon dioxide can be "captured and stored," according to the researchers. There are efforts to make the process cost-competitive..