Changing the way a plant forms cellulose may lead to more
efficient, less expensive biofuel production, according to Penn State
engineers.
"What every biofuel manufacturer wants to do is to get
to the sugars," said Jeffrey Catchmark, associate professor of
agricultural and biological engineering. "But the structure of cellulose
itself can be an obstacle."
Catchmark said that most of a plant's sugar-based energy is
locked up in the crystalline structure of cellulose. To make cellulose, plants
create long chains of sugar -- glucose -- that are then crystallized and
densely packed into tight, ordered bundles resistant to water and other
solvents. This bundling may help build strong plant cell walls, but biofuel
makers must use extra effort to break down and separate the bundles and the
crystalline cellulose to extract the sugars used to ferment fuels.