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In Brazil where sugar cane is used, the yield is higher, and conversion to ethanol is more energy efficient than corn. Recent developments with cellulosic ethanol production may improve yields even further. [12] In 2006 a study from the University of Minnesota found that corn-grain ethanol produced 1.25 units of energy per unit put in. [13]
The production of butanol by biological means was first performed by Louis Pasteur in 1861. [5] In 1905, Austrian biochemist Franz Schardinger found that acetone could similarly be produced. [5] In 1910 Auguste Fernbach (1860–1939) developed a bacterial fermentation process using potato starch as a feedstock in the production of butanol. [6]
Ethanol fermentation, also called alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process which converts sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose into cellular energy, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as by-products. Because yeasts perform this conversion in the absence of oxygen, alcoholic fermentation is considered an anaerobic process.
Syngas fermentation, also known as synthesis gas fermentation, is a microbial process. In this process, a mixture of hydrogen , carbon monoxide , and carbon dioxide , known as syngas , is used as carbon and energy sources, and then converted into fuel and chemicals by microorganisms .
Industrial fermentation is the intentional use of fermentation in manufacturing processes. In addition to the mass production of fermented foods and drinks, industrial fermentation has widespread applications in chemical industry. Commodity chemicals, such as acetic acid, citric acid, and ethanol are made by fermentation. [1]
The pretreatment usually involves heating the lignocellulosic feed stock at high temperature (100–250 °C), which requires much energy and is very costly at the commercial level. Inbicon has patented a method of using ensiled biomass for bioethanol production that does not require expensive heating and chemical pretreatments.
Biofuels include bioethanol, an alcohol made by fermentation—often used as a gasoline additive, and biodiesel, which is usually used as a diesel additive. Specific energy is energy per unit mass, which is used to describe the chemical energy content of a fuel, expressed in SI units as joule per kilogram (J/kg) or equivalent units. [1]
A dish of ethanol aflame. Various alcohols are used as fuel for internal combustion engines.The first four aliphatic alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol) are of interest as fuels because they can be synthesized chemically or biologically, and they have characteristics which allow them to be used in internal combustion engines.