Making biofuels the chemical way

US-based researchers have developed the first one-step synthesis of a biofuel precursor from untreated agricultural waste. The work could pave the way to a simple and efficient method of biofuel production. 

Biochemist Ron Raines and his team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have directly converted untreated corn stover - the inedible leaves and stalks of the plant - straight into 5-hydroxymethyl-fufural (HMF); an 'unprecedented' process, says Raines. This compound is a platform for many commodity chemicals, and for the promising potential fuel dimethylfuran (DMF).

More: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2009/February/11020901.asp