Cracking cellulose: a step into the biofuels future

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2011/research/cracking-cellulose/

Cracking cellulose: a step into the biofuels future

Posted on 31 August 2011

Scientists from the University of York have played a pivotal role in a discovery which could finally unlock the full potential of waste plant matter to replace oil as a fuel source.

Professor Paul Walton and Professor Gideon Davies, of the University’s Department of Chemistry, were part of an international team that has found a method to overcome the chemical intractability of cellulose, thus allowing it to be converted efficiently into bioethanol.

Working with scientists in Novozymes laboratories at Davis, California, and Bagsvaerd, Denmark, as well as researchers at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Cambridge, they identified the molecular mechanism behind an enzyme found in fungi which can degrade the cellulose chains of plant cell walls to release shorter sugars for biofuels.

This represents a major breakthrough as cellulose is the world’s most abundant biopolymer. Global generation of cellulose is equivalent in energy to 670 billion barrels of oil – some 20 times the current annual global oil consumption. The discovery opens the way for the industrial production of fuels and chemicals from plentiful and renewable cellulose in waste plant matter.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1105776108

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Recced, wish I could give it 1000 more. n/t

[NYC_SKP]

2. Panda poop may hold key to cellulosic ethanol (just happened to read this today)

Panda poop may hold key to cellulosic ethanol

Submitted by Don Bain on Tue, 08/30/2011 - 14:46

A microbe that helps Pandas break down their diet of bamboo into usable nutrients may hold the key to the production of ethanol from plants, based on the work of several researchers, according to a report on 9News in Denver last night.

The scientists were part of a panel at the American Chemical Society convention in Denver. “It’s probably one of the most pleasant forms of fecal matter to work with,” said Ashley Brown, one of the researchers. “We have worked with other poo and this has almost a sweet aroma associated with it.”

She and Candice Williams are working with microbes found in the Panda’s excretions that enable the genetically defined carnivore to live out its herbivorous lifestyle.

“If we can make this into something more efficient at breaking cellulose down, we’ll lower the cost and make biofuel cost effective,” Brown added. “We hope it sends the message that – don’t think twice – everything on the Earth is important.”

http://www.torquenews.com/397/panda-poop-may-hold-key-cellulosic-ethanol

:patriot: