CARBOHYDRATES
The More Carbs the Better
The production of biofuels is based on the ability of plants to store carbon energy in the form of sugars and carbohydrates (versus hydrocarbons in fossil fuels).
Through photosynthesis, plants remove CO2 from the air and fix it into simple sugars. Most of these sugars are then formed into long chains of carbohydrates, like starch, as well as larger, more complex carbohydrates (e.g., cellulose), which make up the majority of plant biomass.
Crops grown solely as feedstocks to produce biofuels — called dedicated energy crops — are being developed by Ceres to maximize the amount of biomass that can be grown per acre. Biofuels produced from biomass are often referred to as cellulosic biofuels to distinguish them from fuels produced from starch or sugar feedstocks.
Compare projected ethanol yields from cellulose and corn starch >>
Interactive Plant Cell Wall
Click on the tabs below to see that various structures the make up a plant cell wall.
- COMPLETE CELL WALL
- ▪ Membrane
- ▪ Cellulose
- ▪ Hemicellulose
- ▪ Lignin
