Producing gasoline directly from scrap

The Center for Bioenergy (BESC) of the US Department of Energy has announced a new technological process in gasoline production to reduce dependence on imported oil.

For the first time, researchers at BESC have succeeded in producing isobutanol biofuel directly from plants with cellulose scraps, using bacterial catalysts. As a higher grade alcohol than ethanol, isobutanol is more suitable for using gasoline in popular cars with similar thermal efficiency.

New technology helps produce bio-gasoline directly from waste with catalysts as bacteria.

Cellulose is a very large source of biomass, so far has been little used, although it is much cheaper than corn sugar and cane sugar. However, to obtain gasoline from biomass requires more steps, it is necessary to invest in higher technology than fermenting sugar into biofuel.

Based on a previous study by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on isobutanol production, BESC researchers have shortened the process by using the bacterium Clostriduim cellulolyticum, a bacterium. cellulose decomposition to synthesize isobutanol directly from cellulose, only in one step.

In nature, no microorganisms have all the characteristics necessary for a biological process on a large scale, so scientists have to modify their genes to get the species to meet the love. her technical demand.

Clostridium cellulolyticum, separated from the grass that has been genetically modified to improve ethanol production technology, has been once again selected and combined by other scientists to obtain the mutant bacteria used for the purpose. Isobutanol synthesis.

" Unlike ethanol, only a portion of gasoline can be replaced at a limited rate," said Ibobutanol. "Isobutanol can be mixed directly with gasoline at any rate. It is even possible to directly use isobutanol in automotive engines currently using gasoline without any improvement ."

At the beginning of the week, US Energy Minister Steven Chu visited BESC to congratulate the research team. He said: ' We have proven that we can quickly come to a new generation of bioenergy, helping us to get rid of our dependence on oil .'

"This is a perfect example of forming a new technology - based on agricultural scrap such as rice straw, stems and corn cobs, wood chips and plants - to produce biofuels from raw materials. little material requires fertilizer and energy to create '.

The work is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology Magazine.