Could Corn Husks Cut Cost of Gas?
While the scientific community is now largely in agreement about the carbon inefficiencies of ethanol fuel produced from purpose grown corn, research and development of a biolfuel alternative has been somewhat limited. Though alternatives from sweet sorghum to switchgrass have been suggested, few new technologies have been created to take advantage of the estimated 1.3 billion tons of waste biomass available in the US each year. But a new firm in the American Midwest is looking turn that mess of corn husks, straw and wood leftovers into a viable vehicle fuel—and they think they can do it for $3.63 a gallon. Rather than rely on the fermentation of naturally produced plant sugars to create ethanol, biofuel start-up AlterVia uses “a combination of fluid and supercritical carbon dioxide to break down the cellulose from a plant and isolate it,” before using enzymes to break down the cellulose into usable sugars.
