UW–Madison Study Improves Biofuel Production From Crops Grown During Drought

By Chris Hubbuch

The Science    

Non-food crops like switchgrass are a promising source of plant-based fuels like ethanol and isobutanol, which can be produced by microbes. But switchgrass grown during droughts has high levels of chemicals that limit how much sugar these microbes can convert to alcohol. This experiment shows that breaking down switchgrass with ammonia, water, and enzymes and then lowering the acidity of the resulting hydrolysate solution both improve fermentation and biofuel production from switchgrass, especially when grown in drought conditions.