amylase breaks down corn starch, cellulase breaks down cellulose in grasses. both go to glucose which goes to ethanol. cows, horses, sheep,etc break down cellulose all day every day. They get fat on it. Why is it so difficult to duplicate in a lab?
2007-01-04 05:02:15 · 1 answers · asked by Anonymous in Environment
It is not so difficult to duplicate in a lab. This can be done all day every day. The problem is doing this on a commercial scale in a cost effective manner.
Humans have problems duplicating simple processes that natures does with ease. Have you ever seen a human built ant? If you could find one, would it cost about the same as one "built" by nature? The solution for the task you are asking is the equivalent of building an ant the size of a whale.
Not impossible, but it will require resources. Also some recent estimates place the value of the total current US crop of corn being converted into ethanol, only 31 billion gallons of fuel would be produced. This about 1/4 of the US petroleum fuel consumption.
If cellulose and not corn sugar could be used, all of the fuel needs for the USA could come from cellulose, with some to export. The biggest brake on the research seems to be the federal government.
2007-01-04 11:33:58 · answer #1 · answered by Richard 7 · 19⤊ 0⤋