ScienceDaily (Aug. 9, 2007) — In a finding that could help put wheat alongside corn on the menu of biofuel sources, researchers in the United Kingdom and Greece report development of a new method for producing ethanol from wheat.

The technology - potentially cheaper and more efficient than conventional methods for producing wheat-based biofuel - is scheduled for the August 3 issue of ACS' Biotechnology Progress.

As oil prices soar, demand for bioethanol to stretch out supplies of gasoline has increased dramatically, along with frenzied research efforts to find the best raw materials for its economical production.

While most bioethanol in the United States is made from corn, wheat "could be regarded as the preferred cereal grain for bioethanol production" in Europe, where the grain is more widely grown, the article states. But conventional methods for producing bioethanol from wheat are complex and inefficient.

In the new study, Apostolis Koutinas and colleagues describe a simplified biorefining method that uses fewer steps and less energy and generates fewer waste products. Depending on the selected combination of physical and biological treatment, this process also yields various fractions enriched in bran, wheat germ and proteins that could be sold or utilized for the extraction or production of value-added products, boosting income of biorefineries, the scientists say. "This process could substitute for the conventional wheat dry milling process that is currently employed in industry."

Article: "Optimization and Cost Estimation of novel Wheat Biorefining for Continuous Production of Fermentation Feedstock"

Story Source:

Adapted from materials provided by American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

enlarge

Researchers have developed an efficient method for producing ethanol from wheat. (Credit: Courtesy of Scott Bauer, USDA-Agricultural Research Service)

Related Stories

Spinning Wheat: New Fibers Have Mechanical Properties Similar To Wool (Jan. 30, 2007) — Smooth as silk. Warm as wool; ______ as wheat gluten. Marketing specialists may be challenged to fill in that blank in the future, now that scientists in Nebraska report the first successful ...  > read more

Plant Pathologists Fighting Global Threat To Wheat Supply (May 8, 2007) — A new, highly destructive strain of wheat stem rust is continuing to evolve and has the potential to devastate wheat production worldwide, say plant pathologists with The American Phytopathological ...  > read more

Organic Farming Has Little, If Any, Effect On Nutritional Content Of Wheat, Study Concludes (Oct. 16, 2006) — Organically grown wheat may have different labeling and a higher price in stores, but it contains essentially the same profile of amino acids, sugars and other metabolic substances as wheat grown ...  > read more

Fighting A Worldwide Wheat Threat (July 2, 2008) — Wheat stockpiles are at a 30-year low and production costs are rising, but what really scares wheat growers is the specter of Ug99, a new rust fungus to which very few of the currently grown ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Healthier Pizza