This clearly makes them

superior to the current ethanol blends [8]. In addition to enzymes that have the ability to digest hard woody plant material, experiments are also on the way to provide more efficient feedstocks for second generation biofuels production. The most prospective feedstock for cellulosic ethanol nowadays is corn stover. Due to the abundance and unlimited this website accessibility of the feedstock that is considered as a waste product of corn production, cellulosic ethanol from this feedstock could become an affordable substitute and a blend for gasoline. However, the feedstock poses challenges related to breaking down lignin at a low cost. Several companies have undertaken efforts to improve the technology. For instance, using a sequence of chemical processes, http://www.selleckchem.com/products/umi-77.html the Virent Company (connecting Honda,

Shell and Cargill) has recently developed a biogasoline (a ‘drop-in’ high octane fuel) that can be used as a direct substitute for conventional gasoline [9] and [10]. According to FAPRI-ISU [11], corn stover for ethanol production in the US was used for the first time on a commercial scale in 2008 with 0.43 thousand metric tons being supplied on the market. The supply has been growing to date with an estimate of 713.2 thousand metric tons projected to be used by the end of 2013. Further projections foresee a continuous

increase of the corn stover use for second generation biofuels production up to more than 3.8 million metric tons by 2025. Since the price of ethanol from corn stover (or any other feedstock) depends on the scale of production, it can be expected that with commercialization of the process, the costs of producing cellulosic ethanol would also decrease. Other challenges related to commercialization of corn stover ethanol include, among others, the collection and storage costs of the feedstock and the opportunity cost of the land and other resources being used for the plantation of the feedstock. Natural scientists debate Phospholipase D1 about the amount of corn stover that can be removed from the field and still maintain a healthy biotope without negatively impacting soil fertility or causing excess erosion. Also, the costs of collecting other crops and feedstocks from the field and transporting them to the processing plant might turn out to be greater than growing and harvesting costs. In such a case, certain crops could be abandoned and displaced by cheaper ethanol feedstocks, which could create considerable market changes. An alternative feedstock approved by the legislation for commercial cellulosic ethanol production under the advanced biofuels mandate is switchgrass and miscanthus.