18 June 2007
BIO-POLYMERS
Researchers Convert Glucose Directly to Building Block for Fuels and Plastics
A team of researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have converted glucose directly and with high yield to a chemical intermediate for the production of fuels and plastics: 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). HMF can be converted into plastics, petroleum or diesel fuel extenders, or into diesel fuel. The researchers report on their work in the 15 June issue of the journal Science.
Producing a commercially viable yield of HMF from glucose has in the past been hampered by low yields and the generation of many byproducts such as levulinic acid. As a result, product purification was expensive and non-competitive with petroleum-based chemicals, according to Z. Conrad Zhang, of PNNL’s Institute for interfacial Catalysis (IIC).
Researchers Develop Bioplastic that Can Be Broken Down to Liquid Fuel
Researchers at New York’s Polytechnic University have bioengineered a fuel-latent plastic from plant-derived fatty acids that can subsequently be broken down into a diesel-like liquid fuel for use in generators.
Professor Richard Gross, director of Polytechnic University’s National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules (CBBM) developed the new bioplastic. He partnered with DNA 2.0, a biotechnology company specializing in gene synthesis, to develop the enzymes that can both synthesize and break down the fuel-latent plastic after its use.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/biopolymers/index.html
Amira Kotb