Cutting Cost Of Making Cellulosic Biofuels With New Process
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 12:42
in Physics & Chemistry
A new process to pre-treat corn-crop waste before conversion into ethanol means extra nutrients don't have to be added, cutting the cost of making biofuels from cellulose. The pretreatment process uses ammonia to make the breakdown of cellulose and hemicellulose in plants 75 percent more efficient than when conventional enzymes alone are used. Cellulose in plants must be broken down into fermentable sugars before they can be turned into biofuel.