Earth Protect Blog

With metabolically engineered microorganisms hungry for levulinic acid rather than sugar, a University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) chemical and biological engineer aims to create more sustainable, cost-effective processes for converting biomass into high-energy-density hydrocarbon fuels.

Currently, commercial biofuels—for example, ethanol and biodiesel—are produced from such crops as sugarcane or corn, or derived from plant oils. However, existing production processes for these "first-generation" biofuels are energy intensive and ill suited to meet future demand for alternative transportation fuels.

Brian Pfleger, a UW-Madison assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, is among an emerging group of researchers that is capitalizing on modern biotechnology tools to engineer systems that efficiently and sustainably produce "drop-in" fuels—advanced biofuels interchangeable with today's fuels and compatible with existing infrastructure.

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