[Donovan]

hmmmmmm. Fresh gas and no corn needed!

Ethanol from Carbon Monoxide NBCnews



Scientists Discover New Way to Make Ethanol Without Corn
Scientists said on Wednesday they have developed a new way to make liquid ethanol efficiently without using corn or other crops needed in the conventional method for producing the biofuel.

The scientists said their process turns carbon monoxide gas into liquid ethanol with the help of an electrode made of a form of copper. They said the new technique may be more environmentally friendly and efficient than the current method.

Critics say that growing crops for biofuels is energy-intensive and takes up vast tracts of nonagricultural land, using too much water and fertilizer. They also say diverting corn and sugar to make biofuels pushes up food prices.

The United States leads the world in ethanol production, with 13.3 billion gallons in 2013, followed by Brazil's 6.3 billion gallons, according to the Washington-based Renewable Fuels Association, which represents the U.S. ethanol industry.

Image: Ethanol biodiesel fuel being pumped into a vehicle JASON REED / REUTERS
E85 ethanol fuel is pumped into a vehicle at a gas station in the town of Nevada, Iowa, on Dec. 6, 2007. Scientists say they have developed a new way to make liquid ethanol fuel in an efficient process that does not use corn or other crops.
A group of scientists led by Stanford University chemist Matthew Kanan described the new method in research published in the journal Nature. Kanan said a prototype device could be ready in two to three years, enabling an assessment on whether the process can become commercially viable.

"I emphasize that these are just laboratory experiments today. We haven't built a device," Kanan said. "But it demonstrates the feasibility of using electricity that you could get from a renewable energy source to power fuel synthesis — in this case ethanol. There are some real advantages to doing that relative to using biomass to produce ethanol."

Ethanol fuel generally is produced at high-temperature fermentation facilities that chemically transform corn, sugarcane and other plants into liquid fuel.

Kanan and his colleagues built an electrochemical cell — a device consisting of two electrodes that were put in water saturated with carbon monoxide gas. One of the electrodes was made of a material they call "oxide-derived copper."

When voltage was applied across the electrodes, the carbon monoxide gas was converted into ethanol, they said.

The researchers hope to take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it to carbon monoxide, which then would be fed into the copper-oxide catalyst. The researchers hope the catalytic cell would be powered by a renewable energy source such as solar or wind.

— Reuters

[GT182]

Quote from Donovan's link......

"The scientists said their process turns carbon monoxide gas into liquid ethanol with the help of an electrode made of a form of copper. They said the new technique may be more environmentally friendly and efficient than the current method.

Kanan and his colleagues built an electrochemical cell — a device consisting of two electrodes that were put in water saturated with carbon monoxide gas. One of the electrodes was made of a material they call "oxide-derived copper."

When voltage was applied across the electrodes, the carbon monoxide gas was converted into ethanol, they said."



I'm no scientist but it sounds a bit hokey to me. Kind of like turning lead into gold.

[Alvin]

LanzaTech Gets $55.8 Million To Convert Carbon Monoxide To Fuel (3rd round of investments)

What’s the best, most economical feedstock for producing liquid fuels?

Petronas,the national oil company of Malaysia, and other investors have bet $55.8 million dollars that the answer might be carbon monoxide.

The company’s venture arm, along with the Dialog Group and the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, have joined existing investors in a third round of financing for LanzaTech. The Illinois-based company exploits a species of bacteria–discovered in the intestinal tract of rabbits-that breaks down carbon monoxide and reassembles the atoms into ethanol.

Photos:
Genetically modified versions of the organism can produce butanol and propanol, two high-energy building blocks for transportation fuels.

The advantages over biofuel feedstocks are somewhat apparent. You don’t need to farm plants for LanzaTech’s process. Smokestacks spew carbon monoxide already for free, leading to a potentially cheaper fuel. In regions of the world where carbon taxes have been imposed, LanzaTech’s process actually reduces operating costs of feedstock providers by converting greenhouse gases into a marketable commodity. The Food vs. Fuel debates are nonexistent as well.

The company has been operating a prototype plant in New Zealand capable of generating 16,000 gallons of carbon monoxide ethanol a year. Later this year, it will take the wraps off a demonstration plant outside of Shanghai that will convert the carbon monoxide from a steel mill into 100,000 gallons of ethanol a year. Other steel mills and oil companies are already in discussions with the company about fermenters that will generate millions of gallons a year.

More Jan 2012 details http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelk...oxide-to-fuel/