University of Wisconsin (Madison) researcher has discovered an improved way to transform abundant renewable biomass resources (living and recently dead biological materials used for fuel or industrial production) into a liquid fuel.

The study  states that the sugar based fuels may be able to efficiently power motor vehicles and, thus, reduce, the need for fossil fuels such as petroleum that increase carbon emissions and greenhouse-gas generation in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Fructose is a carbohydrate that is found in many foods. It is obtained from biomass or by the transformation of a molecule into a different isomer (two or more molecules that are chemically the same but have different structures)—the process is called isomerization.

James Dumesic (Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, UW-M) and collaborators have discovered a method to convert fructose (a common sugar, or monosaccharide) into 2,5-dimethylfuran, a synthetic fuel abbreviated DMF.

They state that DMF can be efficiently distributed, stored, and combusted within engines—much more efficiently than corn-based fuels (ethanol).

The U.S. researchers state that their two-step production process could only be about two years away from being perfected. DMF is derived from sugars, like ethanol, but is about 40% more energy dense than ethanol. This denser material produces more gasoline and, thus, produces more miles per gallon from the gasoline.

The two-step process is described in the June 21, 2007 issue of the journal Nature.

First, the researchers added salt and an acidic catalyst to a solution of sugars and water. The solution is then mixed with a hydrocarbon fluid. This action produces an intermediate compound called 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF).

Second, the researchers mixed HMF with a hydrogen and copper-ruthenium-based catalyst. HMF is converted to DMF in the process.

Dumesic states that the process is easy to reproduce in a mass-produced technique. However, he advises that more research be performed to assure that the process does not produce toxic byproducts and cause a negative impact onto the environment.

In any case, the result of Dumesic and his research team is an important step in developing usable, liquid transportation fuel for future applications in the transportation sector around the world.

An abstract of their paper "Production of demethylfuran for liquid fuels from biomass-derived carbohydrates" appears on the Nature webpage.

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