The role of genomics in the development of cellulosic biofuels was recently reviewed by Director Eddy Rubin, of the United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (US-DOE-JGI). Recent studies have indicated that cellulose-based biofuels (“cellulose ethanol”) have good potential for reducing global dependence on fossil fuels. Consequently, strategies for overcoming the barriers in the large scale production of cellulose-based biofuels have been a major focus of research. Genomic information on plants and microorganisms can play an important role in accelerated cellulose-based biofuel development. In the review, Director Rubin describes the basic processes for cellulosic biofuel production and how genomics can “catalyze” research strategies for development  from (1) biomass cultivation/harvesting, to (2) pretreatment/saccharification (delignification and breakdown of plant-cell wall cellulose to component sugars), to (3) ethanol fermentation (of component sugars). In biomass cultivation/harvesting, for example, genomics can zero-in on important agronomic traits and could contribute to the cultivation of dedicated bioenergy crops that are fast growing, drought/pest resistant, and with plant cell-wall compositions that can easily/inexpensively be pretreated/saccharified. Genomic information from microorganisms (bacteria/fungi) and metagenomics (example, termite hindgut analysis) could lead to novel enzyme systems for delignification, saccharification and ethanol fermentation. “Rapid new sequencing methods and the large-scale genomics previously applied to sequencing the human genome are being exploited by bioenergy researchers to design next-generation biofuels”. The complete review can be accessed at the Nature journal web site (URL above).

Related information (genomics) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genomics

The utilization of cellulosic biomass for biofuel production commonly goes through the biochemical route of pretreatment/saccharification (breakdown of cellulose into component- sugars), followed by fermentation of the sugars into ethanol. Although “cellulose ethanol” production technology provides a good energy yield and a good “carbon balance”, the process reportedly has the following drawbacks: (1) the breakdown of cellulose is slow/expensive, and (2) the fermentation to ethanol actually releases carbon dioxide at a ratio of 0.96 grams carbon dioxide for every gram of ethanol produced. Scientists from the University of California- Davis (United States) have recently developed a “cheaper and more efficient” process for the direct conversion of cellulose into alternative biofuels, called “furanics”. Furanics are “furan-based organic liquids” with biofuel potential. Furans are organic compounds whose basic unit consists of an aromatic ring with one oxygen and four carbon atoms. The process involves the digestion of cellulose with a solution of lithium chloride and hydrochloric acid. The target reaction product called, 5-(chloromethyl)furfural (CMF) is then extracted, and eventually converted to 5-(ethoxymethyl)furfural (EMF), a “promising alternative fuel”. The findings are published in the journal, Angewandte Chemie (URL above)..

The steering committee of the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) has announced the release of draft guidelines (“Version Zero”) on the “Principles for Sustainable Biofuels”. The RSB is a multi-stakeholder initiative of the Energy Center, Swiss Federal Technical Institute (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland. The guidelines contain “international standards for guaranteeing that biofuels originate from environmentally sustainable sources”, and could also be used to compare environmental/social impacts of biofuel alternatives. The document contains 12 criteria for sustainable biofuels: (1) Legality (biofuel production shall follow all applicable country laws and relevant international treaties), (2) Consultation, Planning, Monitoring (operation and design of biofuel projects shall be comprehensive, transparent, consultative, and participatory), (3) Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas (the biofuel shall contribute to mitigation of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions), (4) Human and Labor Rights (no violation of human and labor rights, should ensure worker well-being), (5) Rural and Social Development (biofuel shall contribute to the social/economic development of rural and indigenous communities), (6) Food Security (biofuel has no adverse impact on food security), (7) Conservation and Biodiversity, (8) Soil (biofuel production practice shall promote good soil health and prevents degradation, (9) Water (biofuel production shall optimize/minimize use of water resources), (10) Air (biofuel production shall minimize pollution), (11) Economic efficiency, technology, and continuous improvement, (12) Land Rights (biofuel production shall not violate land rights). The draft will be reportedly open for consultation until February 2009. The complete draft guidelines can be downloaded from the EPFL-Energy Center website (URL above)..