New more efficient ways to use biomass

RUNNING HEAD : Biomass

Biomass

[Writer 's Name]

[Institution 's Name]

New More Efficient Ways to Use Biomass ' is a piece dated September 26th of the year 2008 from the online science research journal ScienceDaily that is rather self-explanatory in its title . The article summarizes a journal article from Angewandte Chemie , which reports that a group of scientists , mostly from China , but in collaboration with other researchers from the University of Delaware , have developed a new means of catalyzing the breakdown of cellulose into useful organic compounds

The article

notes the presently growing attention turned towards the development of industrial and commercial applications for biomass and cellulose , particularly in the production of ethylene glycol as an intermediate product in the chemical industry . For example , in the plastics industry it is needed for the production of polyester fibers and resins , and in the automobile industry it is used as antifreeze

It also makes mention of how biomass in the form of starch is currently used to create ethanol as a means of providing a fuel alternative to natural gas as well as fossil fuels , which are increasingly losing their value in the face of spiraling costs , political liabilities inherent from importation and their environmental impacts

However , the present problem with the use of starch in the production of ethanol is that it effectively cannibalizes the existing food supply As such , researchers are turning towards the potential of cellulose which can be found in non-food plant matter such as sugar cane bagasse switchgrass and woodchips . A cost efficient means of distilling ethanol from cellulose would mean that alternative fuel is possible without cannibalizing the food supply and prevent the conversion of lands towards agricultural use , effectively preserving biodiversity

Currently , the main hurdle towards the use of cellulose in the production of useful compounds such as ethylene glycol is the difficulty of processing . It is noted by the authors that today , cellulose is mainly processed via fermentation of its individual sugar components However , breaking cellulose down into those sugar components is a slow and cost-intensive process . Therefore any cost-efficient means of converting cellulose directly into useful compounds would be a welcome innovation

The aforementioned research scientists have developed a new system to create the catalytic reaction necessary for converting cellulose making use of tungsten carbide and nickel on a carbon support . Previous noble-metal catalysts have been problematic , simply because of the proportionally large amounts of noble-metal required for break down and these are too expensive for industrial scale production

It is indicated that the system that the research team have developed also have an improved efficiency and selectivity . Not only is there glycol is much higher , which , as suggested above , is a boon to the chemical industry

The article reminds us that it is only by recognizing that the present means by which we wrangle applications , substances and technology out of the existing biological catalog can be improved that we are fundamentally capable of pushing biochemistry towards more efficient means of utilizing them . But...