In Tennessee, A UT-ORNL is using supercomputing to figure out ways to ease the path of turning vegetation into biofuel. A huge barrier in converting plant polymers to biofuel lies in removing other biomass polymers that subvert this chemical process. To overcome this hurdle, large-scale computational simulations are picking apart lignin, one of those inhibiting polymers, and its interactions with cellulose and other plant components. The results point toward ways to optimize biofuel production and are helping researchers understand the complex chemistry of plant cell walls.
Category: Research