Today in Biofuels Opinion: “The pathway that I think is likely to be the winner is enzymatic hydrolysis.”

Former Vice President Al Gore: “The pathway that I think is likely to be the winner is enzymatic hydrolysis, which essentially uses engineered enzymes to break down the cellulose, the lignin, into fermentable compounds that would then yield many more liters per hectare than any of the first-generation ethanol options,” Gore tells me. “I think it’s going to play a significant role … One of the many advantages of third-generation biofuels is that they can yield fuels like biobutanol that don’t have any blending problems. You just burn them directly. Enzymatic hydrolysis, if I can make another point about that: there is no theoretical upper limit to how efficient they can become. So I think there might be some pleasant surprises on enzymatic hydrolysis.”

From the Straits Times: “Malaysia’s policy of requiring all government vehicles to use 5 percent biofuel has become too expensive and the eco-minded policy may have to be scaled back, a minister said on Monday…Plantations Minister Bernard Dompok said he was urging a shift to B3.

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