Third-generation Biofuels and Beyond

A recently discovered fungus, hidden within a stem from a scraggly tree in northern Patagonia, produces dozens of the same midlength hydrocarbons, which are also contained in gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel.  

Other approaches, already announced as fourth-generation biofuels, are the conversion of spent vegetable oil to gasoline or the use of (modified) micro-organisms to produce suitable feedstocks from C02.  

Seyfried and K. Lenz, Renewable fuels for advanced power train. Final Report, European Commission 6th Framework Programme, SYNCOM, Ganderkesee, 2008, https //www.renew-fuel.com. 

Biofuels in the European Union - A vision for 2030 and beyond. Final draft report of the Biofuels Research Advisory Council, 2006. 

The Biotechnology of Ethanol, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2001 J. Goettemoeller and A. Goettemoeller, Sustainable Ethanol Biofuels, Biorefineries, Cellulosic Biomass, Flex-fuel Vehicles, and Sustainable Farming for Energy Independence, Prairie Oak Pub., Maryville, 2007 L. Olsson, Biofuels, Springer, Berlin, 2007 W. Soetaert, E.J. Vandamme, ed.. Biofuels, John Wiley Sons, Chichester, 2009. 

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