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Friday, May 14, 2010
Good morning,
The ongoing oil spill in the Gulf is a tragic reminder that
it's time to move past oil. The US needs to replace billions
of gallons of gasoline with alternative fuels, and fast.
But how? Hydrogen is too far-out, and it's no easy task to
power our cars with wind- or solar-generated electricity.
The answer, then, is ethanol. Unfortunately, the ethanol
we can make today ? from corn ? is a mediocre fuel source.
Corn ethanol is easier to produce than the cellulosic kind
(convert the sugar to alcohol and you're basically done),
but it generates at best 30 percent more energy than is
required to grow and process the corn ? hardly worth the
trouble. Plus, the crop's fertilizer-intensive cultivation
pollutes waterways, and increased demand drives up food
costs.
But there may be another way to produce a cost-effective
fuel from the most abundant naturally occurring organic
molecule on the planet.
Please scroll down to find out more.
Thanks for reading,
Your Living Green editor
Email the Editor
***
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Scientists have long known how to turn trees into ethanol,
but doing it profitably is another matter. The problem is
cellulose. Found in plant cell walls, cellulose is the most
abundant naturally occurring organic molecule on the
planet, a potentially limitless source of energy. But it's
a tough molecule to break down.
Most of the plant species suitable for producing cellulosic
ethanol ? like switchgrass - aren't food crops. And according
to a joint study by the US Departments of Agriculture and
Energy, we can sustainably grow more than 1 billion tons of
such biomass on available farmland, using minimal fertilizer.
In fact, about two-thirds of what we throw into our landfills
today contains cellulose and thus potential fuel. Better
still: Cellulosic ethanol yields roughly 80 percent more
energy than is required to grow and convert it.
So a wave of public and private funding, bringing newfound
optimism, is pouring into research labs. There are two com-
plicated steps: first, introducing enzymes, called cellulases,
to break the cellulose down into glucose and xylose; and
second, using yeast and other microorganisms to ferment those
sugars into ethanol.
Today's cellulases are the enzyme equivalent of vacuum tubes:
clunky, slow, and expensive. Now, flush with cash, scientists
and companies are racing to develop the cellulosic transistor.
Some researchers are trying to build the ultimate microbe in
the lab, one that could combine the two key steps of the
process. Others are using "directed evolution" and genetic
engineering to improve the enzyme-producing microorganisms
currently in use. Still others are combing the globe in search
of new and better bugs. It's bio-construction versus bio-
tinkering versus bio-prospecting, all with the single goal of
creating the perfect enzyme cocktail.
We're on the verge of some breakthroughs that will enable a
pile of wood chips to become the raw materials for fuels that
will run your car. Whether the car of the future will be
powered by wood chips isn't clear yet. But it may depend on
the success of the hunt for tiny enzymes that could be
discovered anywhere from a termite's stomach in Central
America to a lab bench to your own backyard.