Virent completes first set of drop-in fuel road tests

In Wisconsin, Virent successfully completed its first road fleet test organized and executed by Virent collaborator, Royal Dutch Shell. Virent’s biogasoline was found to cause “no harm” to vehicles in comparison to Shell’s baseline fuel. Shell used five identical pairs of late-model European cars for the road trial.

Five cars used a baseline Shell gasoline, and the other five cars used Shell gasoline blended with Virent’s biogasoline.

Each car was driven 10,000 km (~6,000 miles) over the course of 2010, after which the engines were dismantled and inspected. All ten cars, regardless of the gasoline used, were found to be in the same condition. The Virent process uses continuous catalytic chemistry to convert plant sugars directly into a premium gasoline blendstock, with molecular composition identical to fuel made at a petroleum refinery.