10/29/12 10:33 PM Jet Fuel from Plants | MIT Technology Review

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By Nidhi Subbaraman on AugusI 9, 2010
Jet Fuel from Plants
A way to get a h|gh-energy fue| out of an aoundant and renewao|e
resource.
Researchers aI a sIarIup in Colorado have Iurned planI scraps inIo jeI Iuel, an imporIanI demonsIraIion
IhaI high-energy Iuels can be made eIIicienIly Irom renewable and abundanI biomass.
The company, Oevo, has engineered a yeasI IhaI helps IransIorm Ihe cellulose Iound in wood chips and
planI sIalks inIo buIanol, an ingredienI oI gasoline. The researchers can Ihen modiIy Ihe buIanol inIo jeI
Iuel.
BuIanol has 30 percenI more energy Ihan an equal amounI oI a convenIional bioIuel such as eIhanol.
Because oI IhaI appeal, such companies as CobalI BioIuels, Oevo, and DuPonI have been developing
ways Io cheaply and eIIicienIly produce buIanol Irom renewable sources. One meIhod sIarIs wiIh Ihe
sugars in Ihe sIarch oI corn and sugarcane. AnoIher way Io do iI is wiIh Ihe cellulose Iound in planI
sIalks and wood chips. lI has been easier Io design yeasIs and bacIeria Io IermenI sIarch-based sugars
inIo buIanol, buI Ihe abundance oI naIural cellulose makes iI a beIIer raw maIerial Ior bioIuel producIion,
says Mike Cleary, direcIor oI Ihe NaIional Bioenergy CenIer aI Ihe NaIional Renewable Energy
LaboraIory.
"Cellulose is Ihe biggesI source oI sugars on Ihe planeI," Cleary says. The diIIiculIy is, iI's harder Io geI
aI IhaI cellulose and geI aI Ihose sugars Ihan iI is Io geI Ihe sugars Irom corn kernels."
To make a bioIuel, bacIeria or yeasI digesI planI sIarch inIo sugars, which are Ihen IermenIed. ln 2005,
when Oevo launched, iI announced IhaI iI had creaIed a highly eIIicienI meIhod oI converIing corn-
based sugars inIo buIanol by rewiring Ihe enzyme paIhways in yeasI. Now Ihe researchers have inserIed
Iheir buIanol IermenIaIion paIhway inIo a yeasI IhaI has been cusIomized Io go Io work on a mixed
sugar slurry Iormed Irom cellulose in planI sIalks.
10/29/12 10:34 PM Jet Fuel from Plants | MIT Technology Review
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lmages by Oevo
ReprinIs and Permissions | Send Ieedback Io Ihe ediIor
Because iI packs more energy Ihan IirsI-generaIion bioIuels like eIhanol, buIanol burns more eIIicienIly--
in oIher words, iI could deliver more miles per gallon. AnoIher advanIage: while eIhanol can be blended
inIo gasoline in limiIed amounIs, Ihere is no corresponding limiI Ior buIanol, as iI is already a key parI oI
gasoline. The molecular sIrucIure oI buIanol allows iI Io be readily converIed inIo chemical producIs IhaI
reIineries make Irom peIroleum Iuels. And buIanol could be easier Io use and IransporI Ihan eIhanol--iI
does noI absorb waIer like eIhanol does, making iI easier Io carry in pipelines.
"We wanIed Io IundamenIally change Ihe way bioIuels were made and Ihe sorI oI bioIuels we could
make," says PeIer Meinhold, coIounder and direcIor oI research aI Oevo. "We wanIed Io develop a drop-
in bioIuel--someIhing IhaI you could use direcIly wiIhouI having Io change Ihe gasoline supply and Ihe
gasoline inIrasIrucIure."
Oevo has also developed a unique separaIion Iechnology Io increase Ihe eIIiciency oI iIs producIion
process, which makes a varianI oI buIanol known as isobuIanol. lI's a challenge Io exIracI Ihe bioIuel
Irom Ihe IermenIaIion slurry oI sugars and microbes beIore iI is Ioxic Io Ihe organisms. Oevo's
Iechnology quickly collecIs Ihe isobuIanol as iI is produced, enabling iI Io be made in large quanIiIies.
BuI Oevo's Iechnology has yeI Io be demonsIraIed aI commercial scale. ThaI means iI remains Io be
seen wheIher Oevo's producI can make iI inIo Ihe markeI aI a cosI IhaI is compeIiIive wiIh eIhanol and
gasoline.
Founded by CalIech proIessor Frances Arnold, Meinhold, and oIhers, Oevo is supporIed by such
invesIors as Khosla VenIures. While commercializing iIs Iechnology, Oevo will have Io compeIe wiIh
such companies as LS9, which is developing a way Io produce diesel Irom cellulose in a single-sIep
process. Also, DuPonI and BP have parInered Io develop Iheir own organisms Io produce buIanol Irom
various sugar sources.
Nidhi Subbaraman ConIribuIor
l'm a Ireelance wriIer inIeresIed in a whole range oI Iopics, buI usually l Iind myselI snooping
Ior sIories aI Ihe messy inIersecIion oI biology and Iechnology. l'm now a conIribuIing wriIer
aI FasI Company. ln Ihe pasI, l've wriIIen Ior NaIure B/oIechno/ogy, New Sc/enI/sI's... conIinue

AbouI Nidhi
MlT Technology Review
10/29/12 10:34 PM Jet Fuel from Plants | MIT Technology Review
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