Biofuel industry looks to use fragrance

A new biofuel composition of fragrance chemicals may be the future of clean, green and renewable fuel.

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) are using Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria to make large quantities of methyl ketone compounds from glucose. These compounds are yielding high cetane numbers, which makes them ideal candidates for producing advanced biofuels.

Harry Beller, a JBEI microbiologist who led this study said: "Our findings add to the list of naturally occurring chemical compounds that could serve as biofuels, which means more flexibility and options for the biofuels industry.

"We're especially encouraged by our finding that it is possible to increase the methyl ketone titer production of E. coli more than 4,000-fold with a relatively small number of genetic modifications."

Liquid transportation fuels derived from the cellulosic biomass of perennial grasses and other non-food plants are commonly touted as the most likely replacements of gasoline, diesel and jet fuels. This research offers significant advances on the road to this goal.

Posted by Lauren Steadman