A method has been found in Russia that makes it noticeably easier and faster to obtain fuel from wood and straw. We are talking about bioethanol - a more environmentally friendly fuel from plant raw materials. It can be used separately or added to mineral fuel to improve its properties. Details were revealed in the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia.
Scientists from the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, together with colleagues from the Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU), figured out under what conditions bioethanol is produced most efficiently.
Pine wood and wheat straw were used for the experiments. KNRTU even assembled a special installation where this raw material was processed into biofuel. As a result, it turned out that if you treat the materials with hot steam under pressure (this is steam explosion) at a temperature of 165 °C and 210 °C, they become much more convenient for further processing.
In other words, wood and straw need to be "loosened" so that the necessary substances - carbohydrates - can be easily extracted from them. It is from them that yeast then makes ethanol. After such treatment, the process is noticeably faster.
For example, treated pine wood releases the necessary substances 1.7–2.5 times faster than ordinary wood. And at a temperature of 210°C, less "extra" sugars are produced, which interfere with the production of ethanol and slow it down.
As a result, scientists obtained a material that is suitable for further fuel production: it has a large surface area and high reactivity.
According to calculations, up to 200 kg of ethanol can be obtained from one ton of wood, and up to 140 kg from a ton of dry straw.
As noted by Olga Babich, Director of the Scientific and Educational Center "Industrial Biotechnology", this technology is important not only for creating alternative fuels, but also helps to solve the problem of processing plant and agricultural waste.
