Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITK) have found that zero-cost materials such as grass and water hyacinths can be converted into large quantities of the biofuel, cellulosic ethanol. Using a method named pore-scale phenomena, the plants can be used to increase the amount of fermentable sugars and bioethanol from hemicellulose, a naturally occurring polymer found on plants’ cell walls. Saikat Chakraborty has not been used widely in biofuel production, as until now the chemical reactions were only able to release a quarter of the soluble sugars needed for ethanol production.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITK) have found that zero-cost materials such as grass and water hyacinths can be converted into large quantities of the biofuel, cellulosic ethanol. Using a method named pore-scale phenomena, the plants can be used to increase the amount of fermentable sugars and bioethanol from hemicellulose, a naturally occurring polymer found on plants’ cell walls. Hemicellulose has not been used widely in biofuel production, as until now the chemical reactions were only able to release a quarter of the soluble sugars needed for ethanol production.