Consortium undertakes biofuel conversion project

The consortium is also discovering new enzymes that could help carry out this process.

Wheat straw, spruce chips and wheat bran are all considered waste materials from different industries and are found in large quantities across Europe. 

A major constituent of them is lignocellulose − a mixture of carbohydrate molecules bound to lignin, the component that forms the basis of wood.

Lignocellulose gives trees and plants their strength and durability, and it is these properties that have held back the exploitation of lignocellulosic materials for biofuel production. 

The molecular nature of lignocellulose makes it resistant to the actions of micro-organisms that could otherwise convert it to simple sugar molecules needed to make biofuels.

The EU-funded DISCO project is searching for micro-organisms that can degrade the lignocellulosic material. 

Micro-organisms obtain their energy from breaking down the complex molecules in nature and turning them into simpler sugars and, further, to energy. 

The DISCO project is hoping to find species of micro-organisms that have evolved the highly specialised ability to break down the resistant lignocellulose material.