For a world hooked on fossil carbons, the vials of amber syrup in Jim Dumesic’s lab are full of sweet potential.
Dumesic’s group caused a stir in research circles and the media in 2014 by publishing a paper in the journal Science describing a new scheme for breaking down biomass and unlocking its polysaccharides. Those sugars – candy for microbes – can be fermented to ethanol or upgraded into a host of high value chemicals currently made from petroleum.
At the crux of their method is a solvent derived from biomass itself, called gamma valerolactone (GVL). It’s an elegant process. The GVL created in the reaction is recycled and used to drive it again.
The method appears to be faster and cheaper than its competitors. It doesn’t rely on pricey enzyme cocktails that take days to work and must be tailored to the reactants.