http://www.thealmagest.com/wood-chips-biofuel-hours/8177
[Emmmm, wood chips ARE a biofuel, for heating anyway.]
Wood chips to biofuel in hours
Until now, it has taken weeks to make biofuel from trees. This slow pace
has been a bottleneck for the industry. Researchers from the Norwegian
University of Science and Technology have now shortened the process to a
few hours.
“The time when we use food stock to make biofuel to power a car may soon
come to an end. Currently, maize and sugar cane are used to produce
biofuel,” says Finn Lillelund Aachmann, a biotechnology researcher at
the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Aachmann thinks that
the desire for people to have environmentally friendly fuel should not
be at the expense of food. But turning trees – wood chips and sawdust –
into biofuel in hours promises new profitability for the Norwegian
forestry and woodprocessing industries, now that the demand for paper is
on the decline.
Tiny Wood Chip Machine
The biggest challenge in making biofuel from wood to date has been that
it is a time-consuming process.
In fact, it can take several weeks to make biofuel for cars. This slow
transformation of wood chips into ethanol has been a bottleneck for
companies that want to make money from the process. With a new super
enzyme on their side, the process can be completed in hours.
The super enzyme works like a tiny wood machine that scratches up the
surface of the wood so that other enzymes can gain access and break the
hard surface down into sugar. The enzyme quite simply shoots holes into
the wood surface with the help of oxygen bullets.
A Need For Deeper Understanding
This super enzyme was discovered by researchers at the Norwegian
University of Life Sciences
(UMB). The discovery was published in the international journal Science
in 2010. In 2011, the world’s largest enzyme producer, Novozymes, bought
the enzyme technology patent from UMB. But the company needed a closer
understanding of how the enzyme works.
NTNU’s Aachmann has used NMR technology to learn more about the super
enzyme. Nuclear magnetic resonance technology permits the detailed study
of each nucleus of a molecule. Molecules are the smallest components of
all biological and chemical processes. NMR technology is used to
determine the molecular structure of anything from organic compounds to
proteins, and the technology is the basis for a whole range of
disciplines in both research and industry.
“NMR technology gives us a new understanding of the super enzyme, which
makes it possible for us to improve the use of the enzyme even more.
This is of great importance if we are to create a more financially
profitable and efficient process for producers,” says Aachmann.
Strengthened Cooperation
Norway’s three largest universities are now in the process of
strengthening their cooperation on research that relies on NMR
technology. The initiative is of national importance, and will
contribute significantly in helping the Norwegian government reach its
goals over the next few decades for biotechnology, nanotechnology and
bio-prospecting.
The Research Council of Norway has funded two large new programmes,
BIOTEK2021 (Biotechnology for Innovation) and NANO2021 (Programme on
Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials) to support the government’s
goals. Both programmes will strengthen the interaction between research
and industry in such a way that technology-based knowledge can be used
for sustainable value creation.
--
Darryl McMahon
Wishing you all peace and happiness as you celebrate according to your
beliefs (or not), and a prosperous 2014.
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