Ethanol
Biomass ethanol is still the accepted future of ethanol. While corn ethanol is going well with a multitude of plants placed into operation in the past decade, we have already experienced both a political and economic dilemma with corn in 2008. Even though U.S. production was more than sufficient for food, feed and ethanol, with the increase in oil prices, then commodity prices, the corn use for ethanol became a target. In 2007, 22 percent of U.S. corn production was turned into ethanol, and for 2008 an expected 30 percent will be transformed to ethanol. This level of useage is more than enough to become a political target in tough times.

It is therefore a consensus that for the long-term survival of ethanol, we must turn to biomass ethanol as soon as practical. But, the technology for biomass conversion must be developed. First is the question of what type of biomass should be used? Brazil has utilized sugar cane for decades, and much of their vehicle fuel useage is 100% ethanol. But, sugar cane is a tropical crop. That is obviously not a primary crop for most of the U.S. So, what is the right crop?

The University of Illinois has conducted the largest field trial so far. And, their results have definite conclusions for the giant perennial grass, Miscanthus x giganteus. It has been found that Miscanthus is capable of producing up to 2.5 times the biomass of either corn or switchgrass. "One reason why Miscanthus yields more biomass than corn is that it produces green leaves about six weeks earlier in the growing season," according to Stephen P. Long, U of I professor of crop sciences. "Miscanthus also stays green until late October in Illinois, while corn leaves wither at the end of August," he said. It is also much more efficient at converting sunlight to biomass than switchgrass.

Instead of converting sunlight at the rate of 0.1 percent efficiency like typical plants, Miscanthus is in fact about 1 percent efficient. Obviously, this is a huge efficiency difference. Another advantage, the field trials showed that Miscanthus is tolerant of poor soil quality. "Our highest productivity is actually occurring in the south, the poorest soils in the state," according to Long.

What are the results so far? Miscanthus has the potential of meeting the current goal of offsetting 20% or gasoline use while using only 9.3% of current agricultural cropland.

But, that is only the first step. The next step is efficiently converting the biomass to ethanol. Converting biomass to ethanol involves two fundamental steps. The first is to break the long chains of cellulose molecules into glucose and other sugars. The second is to ferment those sugars into ethanol. These processes involve a host of different organisms, including fungi and bacteria using enzymes to "free" the sugars from the cellulose; then yeast and other microbes to ferment the sugars into alcohol.

But these processes so far are not efficient. Thus, a vast number of research projects around the country are being conducted to find more efficient molecules and/or processes. MIT has developed a yeast that can tolerate 50 percent more ethanol. They are looking toward genetic engineering on all fronts to enhance all steps in the process.

Dartmouth University work, led by Lee Lynd, an engineering professor, is looking to reduce the number of steps in the conversion process. For instance, in some studies they have designed a yeast that can survive on cellulose alone, converting it directly into ethanol. In other work they engineered a "thermophilic" bacterium, that lives in high-temperature environments, whose only fermentation product is ethanol. A private company, Synthetic Genomics, is funding recombinant techniques to build new microbes rather than converting existing molecules. And, Iowa State University, with major funding from Cargill, Inc. is growing microscopic fungi in the leftovers of ethanol production that can save energy, recycle water, and improve the livestock feed left over.

Acoustical Monitoring for Horses
Great news for horse racing fans! A new acoustical monitoring system has been developed to detect small stress fractures in horses!

As horse racing fans are aware, one of the difficult realities of racing is the possibility of bone fractures in racehorses. The fractures often occur in the canon bones, equivalent to finger bones in humans. Besides the obvious harm to the animal, it is estimated to be an annual $10 million cost to the industry. Research has shown however, that the fractures are often preceded by 'microcracks' which are not detected by X-rays.

Ozan Akkus, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University, has now developed wearable acoustic emission sensors. The sensors use sound waves to detect the microcracks that form in the bones. This technology is similar to the acoustical monitoring like that used to study earthquakes. The goal is to provide an alert to imminent danger of a stress fracture "so that they could stop rigorous physical activity long enough for the bone to heal."

Going beyond the horse industry, this technology could also be beneficial to athletes, dancers and soldiers. Often, those training intensely may develop similar types of stress fractures in the lower extremities. For instance, it is estimated that 5 to 20 percent of U.S. basic training recruits experience stress fractures. Thus, these same acoustical monitoring devices may be worn by these recruits and other athletes to detect the micro changes before they result in stress fractures.