Where will the future of biofuels go?

Rising oil prices, energy safety considerations and worries about global warming will help re-ignite interest in renewable energy sources such as biofuels - clean and available fuels. Can be made from plants.

However, there are some problems, namely considering biofuels such as corn-based ethanol: the more corn is used in ethanol production, the less food sources will be available - this is a fact that explains the reason for recent food price increases in the world. Besides, the majority of 6 million gallons (1 gallon = 3.8 liters) of ethanol produced annually in the United States is made from corn, but there is still not enough corn to be a long-term reserve.

Professor Gregory Stephanopoulos of the Massachusetts Academy will host a discussion to find out different ways that energy scientists and lawmakers are looking to overcome constraints, making biofuels Learning is made from renewable biomass materials that become an important part of US energy supply. This discussion is a symposium that takes place on the 16th of February. The annual discussion of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston has the theme ' Converting from biomass to biofuels: These Technical and Policy prospects '.

Stephanopoulos - Professor of Chemical Engineering will discuss his own research on biotechnology yeast. He and his colleagues will find a new way to create the yeast genome to produce the desired properties, especially the ability to withstand the high levels of ethanol that is often toxic to yeast. This technique promises the development of other properties that make yeast produce ethanol more efficiently.

He also discussed other aspects of biofuel research, including the use of plant materials to produce ethanol. To replace corn, scientists are turning to finding cellulose in grass and agricultural wastes.

Stephanopoulos said: 'The technology for processing ethanol from cellulose has not yet been implemented in the US'. However, he estimates that the production of ethanol from cellulose is economically feasible and feasible in the next 10 years.