"Green Gasoline": Like Gasoline, But Made from Cellulose
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 04.10.08
Though they may share many of the same compounds and properties, "green gasoline," the creation of UMass chemical engineer George Huber, differs from regular gasoline in one important respect: it can be produced from biomass sources. And, unlike the various forms of ethanol that have been bandied around, green gasoline can take advantage of the existing gas infrastructure and be pumped into cars as is.
To produce this biofuel variant, Huber and his students heated plant cellulose in the presence of solid catalysts and then rapidly cooled the products - leaving behind a liquid that already contained many of the compounds typically found in gasoline, such as naphthalene and toluene. The whole process takes less than 2 minutes to accomplish and needs only moderate heat; the final liquid can be further refined or immediately used as an alternative to a high octane gas blend.
John Regalbuto, the director of the NSF's Catalysis and Biocatalysis Program, deemed green gasoline an "attractive" (read: much better) alternative to bioethanol because it can be made more cheaply and - like cellulosic ethanol - from agricultural waste, switchgrass, poplar trees or other so-called energy crops that can be grown on marginal land.
Moreover, the heat released during the production process could be harnessed to generate electricity - an added benefit that could make the process almost carbon neutral. The main downside: don't expect to see green gasoline hitting the pumps any time soon - not, at least, until 5 years from now. Huber, who plans on spending the time refining the process and boosting its efficiency by finding better catalysts and reactors, believes the wait will be well worth it if the eventual product meets his lofty expectations.
In the meantime, we'll have to make do with an inane energy policy that shovels subsidies to corn growers and ethanol producers.
Via ::ScienceDaily: Breakthrough In Biofuel Production Process (news website)
See also: ::Biobutonal: A Superior, Renewable Substitute for Gasoline, ::Biogasoline: The Greener Alternative to Ethanol?
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Anyone have any idea of cellulose content of algae? If their oil AND cellulose can be used for fuel production...well that would sound like a pretty good path....but obviously I'm no biology major.
They're wrong, it doesn't work that way
The ironic thing about Algae:
Most open pond systems had problems with growing algae that was too "lean". That is they had low fat/oil content. These leaner algae, however, had a higher cellulose and protein content. The former product has only recently become attractive as a fuel source.
Dr. Huber was part of NPR Program Talk of the Nation's focus on alternative fuels today. The audio can be downloaded here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89562590
In response to several other posts: I am a phycologist (study algae), these organisms do not have cellulose. Algae do not need cellulose as they are supported by the water around them. Plants need cellulose as a support structure so they may stand up in 'air'.
Am I missing something? I didn't see any mention of algae in this article. Read it again people... a bit slower this time perhaps?
When will they start calling cellulosic ethanol "cellthanol"?