Renewable Plant Derived Substance Can Chemically And Biologically Develop Biofuel

Researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a technique using a plant derived chemical that can both biologically and chemically process plants into biofuel. The chemical, Gamma valerolactone (GVL), is inexpensive, renewable and recyclable.

The process converts a high 95% of the material to sugars that can be used by yeast to produce ethanol through fermentation or chemically upgrade furans to create drop-in biofuel.

In the image, the process using GVL dissolves biomass producing fractions that are rich in (from left to right) lignin monomers, hemicellulose and cellulose-derived sugars.

In creating ethanol, GVL helps in concentrating the sugar which the yeast could use to produce ethanol. The process also allows the removal of GVL from the setup for further reuse. Removing and reusing gamma valerolactone can be done through depressurization. Using the gamma valerolactone technique results in a 10% savings in ethanol production compared to current technologies.

Gamma valerolactone can also be used as a solvent for the conversion of biomass to furan chemicals.

Tiny Marine Crustacean Assists In Developing Wood Based Biofuel

The gribble, Limnoria quadripunctata, is one of the only animals that can digest wood.
Image: Simon Cragg/University of Portsmouth

Scientists from the University of York, University of Portsmouth and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have discovered an enzyme produced by gribbles, tiny marine wood borers, that can help turn wood based biomass into biofuel. Unlike termites that have microbes inside their guts to help process wood they digest, gribbles have a sterile gut which means that these tiny animals process the wood themselves through an enzyme.

Scientists have now isolated this enzyme and once its structure is studied and can be commercially reproduced, it can help create sustainable liquid biofuels.

Biofuels are sustainable, efficient, and renewable fuels that are processed from biological material called biomass. Biomass are organic material from living or recently living organisms. Biofuels are derived from biological carbon fixation which is the reduction of carbon dioxide or inorganic carbon to organic compounds by living organisms.

Biofuels can come from different sources such as agricultural crops, animal products, plant material or from living organisms like algae.

Bioenergy Demand Competing With Food Production For Land Availability

Bioenergy is energy that comes from biological or organic sources. It is a renewable source of energy. Bioenergy is also the same as biofuel.

Bioenergy comes from the processing or direct use of organic material called biomass. This biomass comes from plant and animal matter. Dead trees, branches, tree stumps, yard, animal waste, and even municipal solid waste are sources of biomass. In the case of old wood, simply burning it for heat is an example of bioenergy at work.

Starbucks and City University of Hong Kong Collaborate On Biorefinery Project

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Disclaimer: Quantum Day does not endorse or promote Starbucks and holds no relationship with its commercial suppliers or distributors. The report is based on research presented to The American Chemical Society.
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The School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong has recently started collaborating with coffee retailer giant 'Starbucks Hong Kong'. The partnership, which was facilitated by the NGO the Climate Group, will focus on the valorisation of spent coffee grounds and unconsumed bakeries via bio-processing. The collaboration is based on a support scheme and part of the "Care for our Planet" campaign: for every set of Care For Our Planet Cookies Charity Set sold, Starbucks will donate HK$8 to the School of Energy and Environment of City University of Hong Kong to support research on valorisation of food waste for sustainable production of chemicals and materials.

The aim of the research is to valorise the disposed coffee grounds and unconsumed bakeries to bio-plastics and detergents ingredients, facilitating the development of biomass use in Hong Kong and reduce the release of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants into the atmosphere.

The Hong Kong Starbucks project will focus on the use of acidic hydrolysis of non pre-treated spent coffee grounds and bakery waste, followed by fungal solid state fermentation for breaking down the carbohydrate into simple sugars for the subsequent succinic acid fermentation. One of the critical issues to be solved is to overcome the inhibitory compounds which affect the growth of Actinobacillus succinogenes, which is a facultative anaerobic bacterium used in the fermentative production of succinic acid.

This research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

New biorefinery finds treasure in Starbucks' spent coffee grounds and stale bakery goods

With 1.3 billion tons of food trashed, dumped in landfills and otherwise wasted around the world every year, scientists today described development and successful laboratory testing of a new "biorefinery" intended to change food waste into a key ingredient for making plastics, laundry detergents and scores of other everyday products.

Their report on a project launched in cooperation with the Starbucks restaurant chain - concerned with sustainability and seeking a use for spent coffee grounds and stale bakery goods - came at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. Thousands of scientists and others are here this week for the meeting of the world's largest scientific society, which features almost 8,600 reports on new discoveries in science.

"Our new process addresses the food waste problem by turning Starbucks' trash into treasure — detergent ingredients and bio-plastics that can be incorporated into other useful products," said Carol S. K. Lin, Ph.D., who led the research team. "The strategy reduces the environmental burden of food waste, produces a potential income from this waste and is a sustainable solution."