Posted on 09/15/2006 6:46:55 AM PDT by aculeus
TOKYO (AP) -- Honda Motor Co. has developed a way to make ethanol fuel from plant waste matter in a process that has the potential to expand the use of biofuels that fight global warming, the Japanese automaker said Thursday.
Existing bio-ethanol production faces supply limits because it uses sugar and starch of sugarcane or from corn, both of which are also utilized as food. By tapping far greater supplies of inedible plant matter, such as stalks, leaves and rice straw, the new fuel takes a step toward making biofuels more practical, Tokyo-based Honda said in release.
The breakthrough comes as automakers look for alternatives to petroleum-based fuels that will not release greenhouse gases that fan global warming. Surging oil prices have also spurred companies to develop new fuels that may be cheaper and not as prone to supply disruptions.
''Expansion of biomass utilization holds enormous potential as a major step forward toward the realization of an energy sustainable society,'' Honda said.
Honda developed the technology with Honda R&D Co. and the Kyoto-based Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth. The process uses a special microorganism to better convert sugars in the plant matter to alcohol, and another step that then boosts the efficiency of the conversion.
The partners plan to work next on a refinery that can produce not only ethanol, but other industrial compounds from plant matter.
Copyright Technology Review 2006.
In other news GM is restyling their SUV lineup...
Ethanol is okay, but they should really concentrate on BIO-DIESEL production..................
I just don't see that converting our dead carbon to fuel is the long-term solution to our problems.
Nuclear and solar energy. Nuclear because the supply of fuel is essentially limitless relative to our energy needs, and solar because it is a source we cannot exhaust. (when we lose it, it won't matter because our planet will cease to support life).
Combined with hydroelectric (which is of course really a form of solar energy). And possibly wind and wave -- although they scare me a bit, because of the possible impact to the global weather patterns if we take too much energy out of the existing wind and wave cycles. I've been told though that the amount of energy we would tap is an infinitesmal part of what is there, and couldn't impact the global system.
Bio-Diesel and Butanol seems to hold much better promise for 'bio-fuels' of the future.
People have been talking about the cellulose---cellulase--->starch---diastase--->sugar---zymase--->ethanol cascade since the '80's. Maybe they found a way of making it work.
In this way non-food materials can be used. I think the different reactions need different pH's so one cannot simply dump the bacteria and yeasts in a big tub full of straw, etc.
Termites already do it except for the last stage.
So much research money being sacrificed to the global warming gods. Sad.
There's no need to be "worried" about the amount of power extracted from the atmosphere by wind turbines. There are some things already in existence which already extract far more: the Siberian and Amazon forests for example.
bump
bump for later reading
Try to imagine a bug getting loose that turns our crops into sugars before we eat them. It would be like termites for crops instead of wood. I was just watching a show on a "Franken" grass that can't be killed with Roundup has gotten loose now and is spreading in farmland. They are terrified.
We seem to be scratching around for every alternative fuel solution to every form of energy usage. But one of the most proven, and inexpensive to purchase and operate is the 'solar clothes dryer' and no one uses it anymore; nor do you see it advocated. Come on Al Gore, tell Americans that under your administration, its use would be mandated!
In other news GM is restyling their SUV lineup...
LOL
And will probably brag about the new V-16 500hp 12 passenger run-a-bout as gas prices come down. The rush will be on to capitalize on Lower prices=bigger engines and safer and heavier SUVs
Bio-Diesel and Butanol seems to hold much better promise for 'bio-fuels' of the future.
That's the beauty of a free market - you don't have to pick, or have some Peter-Principle central planner pick, one or the other.
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