New research suggests that eucalyptus could soon become a viable crop for use in the manufacture of biofuels.
Scientists at the US Department of Energy's (DoE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have found that lignin-modified eucalyptus trees release twice the usual amount of sugar, Biofuels International reports.
Angela Ziebell of NREL said the find is particularly interesting, as not only is more sugar produced by these trees, it is also released more easily than in other biofuel crops.
"The challenge is not just how much sugar a plant contains, but whether or not the plant will release that sugar without excessive processing. That is what makes it valuable as a liquid fuels source," she told the news provider.
A recent breakthrough in metabolic engineering at the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences has identified that seaweed could be an alternative to petroleum as a fuel source.
Typical Guttridge equipment used in the biofuels industry includes:
Conveyors – screw conveyors – chain conveyors – belt conveyors
