Lignocellulose, a raw material in biomass, can be converted to biofuels and is often considered a long-term alternative to the diminishing supply of fossil fuels. The conversion process involves biomass pretreatment, hydrolysis of constituent carbohydrates and catalytic conversion of platform chemicals. Proposed strategies to convert lignocellulose to aviation fuels have underused components, preventing their commercialization.
A collaboration between several research groups has taken a hydrolysis-based approach to produce aviation fuel from red maple biomass. The proposed method focuses on synthesizing levulinic acid and furfural from lignocellulosic 5- and 6-carbon sugars and catalytically upgrading these to jet fuel range alkanes. This combined techno-economic analysis considers several possible processing options at points throughout the procedure and combines the most viable to create a comprehensive conversion process, which can produce jet fuel priced at $4.75 (£2.88) per gallon.
Consider the Source
Consider the First Source!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word choreographed an assembly of amino acids into an exquisite array of specific proteins. Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” In so doing God demonstrated a penchant for genomic writing, preceeded by an amazing series of prebiotic events, in a highly orchestrated presentation of evolutionary overcontrol.
