Brief: Researchers find more efficient method to process biomass

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a method to more efficiently convert biomass into high-demand chemicals and energy-dense fuels.

The break through is the discovery that gamma-valerolactone, GVL, works as an ideal solvent in processing the two main components of plant biomass, hemicellulose and cellulose.

Prior methods called for the two components to be separated before processing which added up to 30 percent of the total capital cost of a biomass production plant. By using GVL, hemicellulose and cellulose can be processed without separation and in a single reactor.

GVL also reduces the amount of acid needed in processing the biomass which leads to less waste and a more environmentally friendly process.