“Flowers”, Yet Another Source of Bioethanol…
These are the blooms of a flax plant. (Credit: Johnathan J. Stegeman and Tom Hilton /SINC.)
Two studies carried out by Spanish and Dutch researchers have unearthed two new and unexploited sources of Bioethanol.
What are they?
- Surplus biomass from the production of flax (used for the production of paper fibres for animal bedding)
- Brassica carinata crops (herbaceous plant with yellow flowers)
These are the flowers of a Brassica plant. (Credit: Johnathan J. Stegeman and Tom Hilton/ SINC)
So the complete process includes…
- harvesting of flax or Brassica
- production of ethanol (through enzymatic hydrolysis followed by fermentation and distillation)
- mixing it with petrol (in varying proportions)
- finally its use in passenger automobiles
Which is better: Flax or Brassica?
Flax which is richer in cellulose can produce up to 0.3 kg of ethanol for every kg of dry biomass compared with 0.25 kg/kg in the case of Brassica.
However…
When the whole production cycle is analyzed, the yellow-flowered plant offers a greater production of biomass per hectare and has a lesser environmental impact.
The results of both studies show that…
The use of such ethanol based fuels can reduce CO2 emissions and fossil fuel consumption, two of the biggest challenges for mankind in the next few decades!
via: EurekAlert!
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