Bio-crops may be created for biofuels: report

The rapidly growing U.S. fuel ethanol industry has the capacity to distill 4.8 billion gallons of the motor fuel this year, mostly from corn (maize). Federal law sets a target of using 7.5 billion gallons (28.4 billion liters) of renewable fuels annually by 2012. "Crops with energy-specific traits may be developed to help meet the growing demands for renewable alternative fuels," said USDA's Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture in a report looking at possible paths for genetically modified crops in the coming decade. It said genetic engineering could be used to add traits to food crops, such as corn and soybeans, and nonfood crops, like grasses and trees, to enhance energy production. "The large-scale production of such energy crops could have tremendous implications for U.S. agricultural systems," said the report. "Bioenergy uses will be visible to consumers and their scale alone could raise concerns for them, although meeting bioenergy needs using genetically engineered crops could be seen by consumers as a benefit as well." "Source":[ http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-08-30T204217Z_01_N30230545_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-ENERGY-BIOCROPS-DC.XML&archived=False]

---

Related articles

The Long-Run Impact of Corn-Based Ethanol on the Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Sectors with Implications for Biotech Crops - The ongoing growth of corn–based ethanol production raises some fundamental questions about what impact continued growth will have on US and world agriculture (22.5.2007)

UN warns on impacts of biofuels - A UN report warns that a hasty switch to biofuels could have major impacts on livelihoods and the environment (10.5.2007)

New variety of corn makes ethanol production for cars more cost effective - Michigan State University researchers claim to have developed a new variety of corn that promises to make ethanol production for running cars, more cost-effective and efficient (9.5.2007)

New generation biofuels coming soon - The credentials of biofuels might have been dented by claims that current production methods are inefficient, lead to deforestation and drive up food prices, but a German firm hopes to change all this with new technology (24.4.2007)

A new biofuel: propane - While much of the attention on biofuels has focused on ethanol, the process developed by the MIT researchers produces propane, says Andrew Peterson, one of the graduate students who demonstrated the reactions (20.4.2007)