ORNL researchers says hybrid biological and catalytic approach needed for cellulosic biofuel

In Tennessee, researchers collaborating through the Center for Bioenergy Innovation make the case that scientific advances support a hybrid approach using biological and catalytic methods for producing cellulosic biofuel for use in airplanes, ships and long-haul trucks.

As presented in Energy & Environmental Science, this hybrid approach uses microbes to convert cellulosic biomass such as wood and grass into an intermediate, small-molecule product such as ethanol. The ethanol would then be catalytically upgraded into hydrocarbon fuels suitable for heavier vehicles. 

The study states that using the combination of biological and catalytic methods “is a promising approach to bridge the current gap between the fuel molecules that biology most readily makes and the fuel molecules that the world would most value producing from biomass.” 

This paper highlights the potential of ethanol as a key intermediate that can be processed to create desired hydrocarbon fuels.

A variety of methods have been tested to catalytically convert these intermediate products in reactors that are relatively small and affordable. Although meeting aviation and diesel engine needs will require further advances, those advances are not far off.