An Apple a Day Keeps the Gas Pump Away
by Jeremy Elton (Treehugger) A team of scientists led by James Dumesic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has discovered a way (subscription needed) to turn the sugar commonly found in fruits like apples and oranges into a biofuel with 40% greater energy density than ethanol. This two-stage process, which essentially converts the sugars (fructose and sucrose) into 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF), consists of a series of steps involving acid and copper catalysts, salt and butanol as a solvent.
We have already discussed the merits and downsides to using ethanol, particularly corn-based ethanol, as a viable source of renewable energy at length several times in the past . … The low cost efficiency and very real possibility of precipitating unwanted secondary effects make the reliable, long-term use of ethanol more suspect at this point. But can using biomass-derived sugars solve our current and future energy needs more effectively?