Shell and Virent Energy Systems Inc., announced that they have entered into a joint research and development study to convert plant sugars directly into gasoline and gasoline blend components, as opposed to ethanol. According to Shell, the collaboration would give consumers a new biofuel that could be used at high blend rates in standard gasoline engines. This could potentially eliminate the need for specialized infrastructure, new engine designs, and blending equipment.
The study is based on Virent’s BioForming(TM) platform technology which uses catalysts to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon molecules like those produced at a petroleum refinery. According to the companies, sugars traditionally have been fermented into ethanol and distilled. The new “biogasoline” has a higher energy content than ethanol (or butanol), gives the consumer better fuel efficiency, and can also be blended seamlessly to make conventional gasoline or combined with gasoline containing ethanol.
Shell said that the sugars for feedstock could be sourced from non-food sources like corn stover, switch grass, wheat straw, and sugarcane pulp, in addition to conventional biofuel feedstock like wheat, corn, and sugarcane.
The companies have so far collaborated on the research for about one year. The BioForming(TM) technology has advanced rapidly, exceeding milestones for yield, product composition, and cost, Shell reports. Future efforts will focus on further improving the technology and scaling it up for larger volume commercial production.