A new catalyst discovery could change the thinking on biofuel production viability.
According to scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory - funded by the US Department of Energy - their experiments show that traditional thinking related to zeolite catalysts are based on incorrect assumptions.
The Oak Ridge experiments have demonstrated that the way zeolites function means the process of converting ethanol to ethylene before creating hydrocarbons may be unnecessary.
According to ORNL report co-author, Chaitanya Narula: "It has been assumed that you must go from ethanol to ethylene, which is endothermic and requires energy. We showed this step doesn't occur and that the overall reaction is slightly exothermic."
The result is that, by understanding the process which creates a 'hydrocarbon pool' a direct biofuel-to-hydrocarbon approach becomes viable for may refineries. As Narula explains: "Our method of direct conversion of ethanol offers a pathway to produce suitable hydrocarbon blend-stock that may be blended at a refinery to yield fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel or commodity chemicals."
The new process was, apparently, licenced in 2014 to California-based Vertimass and the two organisations are now working to create a commercial-scale operation.