Written by VeganVerve

Not only does using a food crop for fuel potentially limit the amount of land available for consumer food crops, it also has been criticized as detrimental to the environment. However, many wish to see biofuels produced from the waste of crops like corn, not the corn itself. This is called cellulosic ethanol and the process to create it is known and used, but expensive.

The current way in which to produce cellulosic ethanol often involves enzymes which are expensive. However, a more cost-effective way of producing the ethanol may have been discovered by a duo of researchers at the University of Wisconsin. The researchers, Joseph B. Binder and Ronald T. Raines, have discovered a process using salt with a low melting point, alongside water and acids, in order to produce cellulosic ethanol.

The researchers have indicated that their method does not yet meet the amount of ethanol produced using the enzyme method, however it is quite close. They have indicated that with further research the sugar produced should equal that of the more expensive method. Their total findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Image courtesy of Creative Commons.

Source:http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/alternative-energy/expensive-method/

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