Forget Corn: Mushrooms May Hold Key to Energy Crisis (Update2)
Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- A solution to the world's energy
problems may lie in a Chinese mushroom growing in Novozymes A/S
laboratories.
The Danish company's scientists in China, Brazil, Denmark
and the U.S. are testing mushrooms and lichen to find one that
will turn corn cobs and sugarcane stalks into biofuel. An
affordable alternative to gasoline made from plant waste would
end concerns that global hunger for energy is driving up food
prices worldwide.
`We're not going to solve today's energy shortage with
food,''
Fungi like mushrooms and lichen make enzymes to eat rotting
logs and decaying leaves. Biofuel producers use the proteins to
break down the complex carbohydrates in plant cells into a soup-
like mixture of simple sugars that yeast can eat. In a process
much like making beer, yeast ferments the mixture, producing
ethanol.
enzymes commercially available
will allow our customers to produce at around $2.50
per gallon
clipped from: www.bloomberg.com 