Wood for motor fuel?

Renmatix, a Georgia company claims that a major hurdle has already been overcome when it comes to turning agricultural waste into vehicle fuel as well as other useful chemicals – and this was achieved through a technology which is capable of treating the waste with compressed water that has been heated to very high temperatures.

Renmatix intends to commercialize this technology that will be used to convert cellulosic biomass, or wood chips, switchgrass and the nonedible parts of crops, to other forms of fuel which will go a long way in reducing the nation’s reliance on oil imports for gasoline. Not only that, the result of this research is a cleaner-burning and less expensive source of energy.

Another plus point is this – the supply of cellulosic biomass is obviously much more than the amount of corn that is available for creating ethanol, so it also means there is less diversion of resources from food production. I wonder whether this technology will be licensed and implemented elsewhere, and what do energy companies have to say about it.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Green, Transportation
Tags: fuel, wood