Scientists at Purdue University say they have made a startling discovery that could accelerate the feasibility of making ethanol from corn stover. Boil the plants first, and it will open up their pores and allow more ethanol to be produced. Wow, hot water, what will the eggheads think of next?
While the pre-treatment was known to improve ethanol yields by up to 400 percent, the Purdue profs say they now understand why this is so. "These enlarged pores are more easily attacked by enzymes that convert cellulose into glucose, which is in turn fermented into ethanol by yeast," according to Purdue researcher Nathan Mosier. This will help to develop new processes for breaking down cell walls.
Meanwhile at Cornell University, researchers have identified a new class of plant enzymes that are also more efficient at breaking down the cell walls of corn plants. The enzymes were found in tomato plants and have to be studied further to be applied to corn.
So if these discoveries are implemented, the process might become almost as energy efficient as sugar cane is today. But, since their isn't a sugar cane ethanol lobby, the research dollars isn't there.
