Researchers push nature beyond its limits to create higher-density biofuels

December 19, 2008 | Source: PhysOrg.com

Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have genetically modified Escherichia coli to produce unusually long-chain alcohols (8 carbon atoms) essential in the creation of biofuels.

Longer-chain alcohols, with five or more carbon atoms, pack more energy into a smaller space and are easier to separate from water, making them less volatile and corrosive than the commercially available biofuel ethanol. The greater the number of carbon atoms, the higher the density of the biofuel. Ethanol, most commonly made from corn or sugarcane, contains only two carbon atoms.