What:

"The biggest barrier to converting inexpensive biomass to fuels is efficiently extracting the sugars from biomass. The lignin component of biomass is like the glue in fiberglass that protects the sugar fibers. Peracetic acid is strong oxidant that can break down lignin, but it is too expensive to manufacture. We are engineering enzymes to efficiently produce peracetic acid. Besides biofuel manufacture, enzyme-generated peracetic acid may be a green oxidizing reagent for organic synthesis and a water disinfectant for developing countries. "

Writer: Romas J. Kazlauskas

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Date: Feb 7 2014 5:48 PM