Ghent University researchers develop process to produce lactic acid from grass

April 3, 2017 |

In Belgium, researchers at Ghent University have developed a process that turns grass into fuel. Scientists at the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University have developed a way to turn grass into biofuel. Grass is first pretreated to increase biodegradability. Then enriched bacteria are utilized to convert the sugars in the grass into lactic acid and its derivatives. The lactic acid can already serve as an intermediate chemical to produce other compounds such as biodegradable plastics (PLA) or fuels. In this case, the lactic acid is converted into caproic acid which was further converted into products such as decane. And that is where the process ends: decane can be used as fuel, for example for aviation.

Category: Research

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