La producci\u00f3n de etanol a partir de las paredes celulares de plantas no alimentarias representa una soluci\u00f3n sustentable para la producci\u00f3n de biocombustibles debido a la abundancia de estos recursos renovables de nuestro planeta. Esto es importante para nuestro pa\u00eds por ser la producci\u00f3n de biocombustibles un campo de inter\u00e9s econ\u00f3mico creciente y por ser esta v\u00eda de obtenci\u00f3n no competitiva con la producci\u00f3n de alimentos.<\/p>\n
The research group of professor Shiro Saka at the Dept. of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan; www.ecs.energy.kyoto-u.ac.jp<\/a>) has developed a new process that efficiently produces bioethanol from non-edible lignocellulose resources, without generating carbon dioxide. The two-step process is able to produce 700 L of ethanol per ton of biomass \u2014 more than double the 300-L\/ton yield of existing fermentation methods, which also discharge about one third of the total carbon as CO2<\/sub>.<\/p>\n In the process, lignocellulose is first decomposed by hot, pressurized water. In a two-culture fermentation process, the decomposition products are then converted to acetic acid, followed by esterification and hydrogenolysis to produce ethanol.<\/p>\n The researchers believe their achievement will contribute to reducing CO2<\/sub> emissions, and are working to enhance the process, as well as beginning collaboration with industrial partners.<\/p>\n