Researchers across the country are working on finding ways to convert problematic plant material into fuel. A team at North Carolina State University were able to break down lignin using ozone gas to access the carbohydrates inside safely and harvest them. The breakdown took place at room temperature and normal pressure so it seems to be an easy, cost effective way to create new fuels. Another team at the University of Wisconsin is working on converting cellulose to glucose to create ethanol fuel easily also. Sodium hydroxide,ethanol, and water soaked with glucose can create double the amount of ethanol in the same time period than the past. The goal of all this research going on is to create cheap 'biofuels' that are made from plants that humans can't eat instead of using corn (mainly in ethanol). Inexpensive, efficent ways are clearly being discovered quickly by these researchers and more is sure to come.
See http://discovermagazine.com/2010/dec/07-turning-tough-trash-food-friendly-fuel
Posted by Effie Morway
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Both of these methods sound like more promising ways to aid in replacing non-renewable fossil fuels. However, it seems that within the past decade, researchers have explored a multitude of ways to move away from our current use of fossil fuels, but none have really caught on to mainstream society. With so many alternatives to our current fuel use, I find it frustrating that our nation has not made more progress in implementing these other methods.
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