Accelerating Cellulosic Ethanol Research
The United States and Brazil will team up to accelerate research in the area of cellulose-derived biofuels, which utilize inedible plant matter as feedstock instead of crops.Â
The two nations are the world’s top producers of ethanol. Brazil’s foreign minister Celso Amorim and U.S. secretary of agriculture Ed Schafer announced the agreement late Thursday at an international biofuels conference in Sao Paulo.
In a statement they said they would broaden scientific collaboration led by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and Brazilian oil firm Petrobras’ Center for Research and Development (CENPES).
Cellulosic ethanol, also known as "second generation" ethanol, is not yet produced on a commercial scale. It involves breaking down bits of crop waste or plants into sugars to ferment.Â
The method is expected to emit fewer greenhouse gases than cane and corn-based production.
The two nations will also join forces to assist five countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean to develop their own biofuel industries. Additionally, the two nations will invest $4.3 million in biofuel projects in Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras, Guinea Bissau and Senegal.
Nations such as Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti and St. Kitts and Nevis, which are already receiving assistance in developing biofuel industries, would also benefit from the new collaboration.
Brazil pioneered the use of sugar cane ethanol in the mid-1970s, and has adapted their cars to run on the biofuel. A newer line of "flex-fuel" cars debuted roughly four years ago can run on any mix of gasoline and ethanol.
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Image Caption: Miscanthus is a genus of about 15 species of perennial grasses native to subtropical and tropical regions of Africa and southern Asia, with one species (M. sinensis) extending north into temperate eastern Asia. It can be used in the making of cellulosic ethanol. Image Courtesy Wikipedia
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