As concerns over fossil fuels consumption rise, engineers are exploring novel energy feedstocks such as sugarcane and cornstarch. These biomass sources can be exploited to produce valuable biofuels and bioproducts, but they pose potential competition with commercial food crops and engender an unsustainable reliance on land use.
At the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), scientists have developed a method to produce methyl ketones (MKs) from agricultural residues, energy crops, and municipal solid waste (MSW) — all non-food biofeedstocks. Recent research demonstrates MKs’ potential as a diesel fuel precursor.
“Methyl ketones are an incredibly promising biofuel,” says Ning Sun, a bioengineer at LBNL. “Our feedstock, MSW, is sometimes composted, but generally, it is landfilled and will release gases such as carbon dioxide. By using the waste as a feedstock, we can generate a viable product while reusing waste...
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