Venezuelan research team develops process to convert deadly cassava waste to biofuel

In Venezuela, a team of researchers on the Yaretanol project report that they have developed a means to convert cassava waste to ethanol, butanol, isobutanol and propanol. “Yare” is the local term for the milky byproduct of cassava root food production, a substance high in cyanide content. The team said that 2 cubic centimeters of Yare can kill an animal weighing over 1,000 pounds. The Yare conversion process, according to the research team could produce 1 percent of Venezuela’s ethanol, or 3 Mgy.

The group also reported that they can use starch and ethanol as a base for biopolymers, and plastic extract as a base for bio-combustibles.

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