Designing microbes that make energy-dense biofuels without sugar

University of Wisconsin - Madison
June 27, 2012
by Renee Meiller

With metabolically engineered microorganisms hungry for levulinic acid rather than sugar, a UW-Madison chemical and biological engineer aims to create more sustainable, cost-effective processes for converting biomass into high-energy-density hydrocarbon fuels.

Currently, commercial biofuels — for example, ethanol and biodiesel — are produced from such crops as sugarcane or corn, or derived from plant oils. However, existing production processes for these “first-generation” biofuels are energy-intensive and ill suited to meet future demand for alternative transportation fuels.

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