Biofuel Production: New Research

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Biofuel Production: New Research leading to New Possibilities?

“Limited availability of fossil fuels stimulates the search for different energy resources. The use of biofuels is one of the alternatives. Sugars derived from the grain of agricultural crops can be used to produce biofuel but these crops occupy fertile soils needed for food and feed production.”

Producing crops for biofuel is important in agriculture today. But not only do current crops for biofuel compete with land that may be needed for food and feed production, biofuel production is arguably an inefficient process. Why?

A major barrier to efficient biofuel production is lignin, a major component of plant cell walls that help make plants stand up, but which reduce accessibility of plant sugars for biofuel production. Findings recently published in Science Express “identified a new gene in the biosynthetic pathway of lignin… [which] pave the way for new initiatives supporting a bio-based economy” according to a report from ScienceDaily.

Read more about “New Possibilities for Efficient Biofuel Production” here.