The future of vehicles powered by 'grass' energy

Recently, scientists from the US Department of Energy's Biological Energy Center (BESC) have announced a new technological process that allows the production of isobutanol from xenlulozo in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Chemically, isobutanol is a monoalcohol , the chemical structure of the branch chain, 5 Carbon, is the main ingredient in isobutanol, a high-quality gasoline, more suitable for replacing gasoline in pine cars. Use with equivalent thermal efficiency.

And cellulose is a polymer of beta - glucose, which is structured in a branched fashion. Cellulose is a constituent of the plant cell wall, there are many in nature, the biomass source is very large, and very cheap. Cellulose is used from agricultural waste such as straw, stems and corn cobs, wood chips and plants.

Photo: eco-business.com

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in producing isobutanol bio-gasoline directly from plants with cellulose residues, using a microbial catalyst. Based on a previous study by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on the production of isobutanol, BESC researchers have shortened the process by using Clostriduim cellulolyticum (decomposing bacteria). cellulose to synthesize isobutanol directly from cellulose in just one step.

If the process is natural, Clostriduim cellulolyticum cannot participate in this process with large scale and capacity. But with genetic engineering, scientists have influenced the genetic apparatus of this bacterium, creating a similar strain of bacteria, but having a conversion capacity hundreds of times higher.

" Unlike ethanol, replacing only part of gasoline at a limited rate, isobutanol can be mixed with gasoline at any rate, " said Professor James Liao, director of UCLA's Department of Molecular Biology . Isobutanol can even be used directly in automotive engines currently using gasoline without any improvement. '

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu visited BESC and congratulated the research team. He said: 'We are getting closer to a future of bioenergy, helping us to get rid of our dependence on oil. This is also a success in the application of new technology, based on agricultural scraps, capable of creating strong energy potential in the future ".