Beyond Ethanol: Synfuel From Biomass

After reading Wired’s current state of affairs on how close we are to cellulosic ethanol — the short answer is, “this close” — we came across a blurb about synfuel. Commonly used in military applications, many new companies and researchers are using biomass to create synthetic fuel instead of using non-renewable resources. Biomass is what would also fuel cellulosic ethanol. So why go the synfuel route? Ethanol only produces 85% of the energy of gasoline and requires retrofitting pipelines, gas stations and car engines. The biomass-generated synfuel would work and act just like gasoline and, theoretically, could be used in regular gas-powered cars.

You can thank us for sounding smart at your next cocktail party. What? This doesn’t sound like cocktail party banter? What kind of cocktail parties are you going to, anyway?

4 Technologies on the Brink (Wired)