All Images


News Release 08-156

From Sugar to Gasoline

Using processes familiar to the petroleum industry, two separate research groups craft "green gasoline" from sugar and carbohydrates

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

Photo of green gasoline on top of water.

The physical properties of Virent's Biogasoline product spontaneously separate from water. This requires very little energy for processing compared with the energy-intensive process of distillation required for ethanol purification.

Credit: Virent Energy Systems, Inc. Contact Virent for image permissions and use.


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (125 KB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

John Regalbuto, program director for Catalysis and Biocatalysis in NSF's Division of Chemical, Biochemical and Biotechnology Systems, describes green gasoline and provides context for its potential role as an alternative energy.

Credit: National Science Foundation

 

Clint Chapple is an expert on plant biochemistry from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and a pioneer in developing new plants, such as variants with weakened cell walls, that are more easily converted into biofuels. In a short video clip, he explains why plants are leading contenders to help address the energy crisis and how researchers are working to better understand plants so that new varieties will be easier to convert into fuels.

Credit: Purdue University

 

Randy Cortright, CTO of Virent Energy Systems, was a recipient of an NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop a process for generating hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels from biomass. In this short video, Cortright describes a new iteration of the process that seems promising for ultimate commercialization, a key goal of the SBIR program.

Credit: Virent Energy Systems, Inc.

 

George Huber, a chemical engineering professor from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has developed one of the most efficient methods for turning wood chips--or any other plant waste, such as corn husks or even waste paper--into critical gasoline components. In this video, he describes his process and shows a simple model of the catalyst that drives it.

Credit: National Science Foundation

 

Photo of Edward Kunkes in the lab next to a reactor system used to convert sugar to gasoline.

University of Wisconsin researcher Jim Dumesic is working to create petroleum alternatives using plants and specialized catalysts. In this image, Dumesic's student Edward Kunkes is in the lab next to a reactor system used in the conversion of sugars into targeted classes of liquid fuels.

Credit: Jim Dumesic, University of Wisconsin


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (132 KB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

Photo of researchers working in one of Virent's liquid fuel laboratories.

Researchers work in one of Virent's liquid fuel laboratories.

Credit: Virent Energy Systems, Inc. Contact Virent for image permissions.


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (1.3 MB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

Photo of members of the University of Wisconsin research team.

Members of the University of Wisconsin research team. From left to right: Ryan West, Christian Gärtner, James Dumesic, Edward Kunkes and Juan Carlos Serrano-Ruiz. Colleague Dante Simonetti is now at the University of California at Berkeley.

Credit: James Dumesic, University of Wisconsin


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (3.7 MB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

Photo of Randy Cortright holding a flask filled with Virent's biogasoline product.

Randy Cortright holds a flask filled with Virent's biogasoline product.

Credit: Virent Energy Systems, Inc. Contact Virent for image permissions.


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (393 KB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.