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Contact: Brian Hyps
bhyps@aspb.org
310-251-0560
American Society of Plant Biologists
Caption: The above figure from the U.S. Department of Energy gives a graphic depiction of the composition of plant cell wall (biomass). Cellulose and hemicellulose contain sugars which can be converted into ethanol. However, with current technology, it is costly to separate cellulose and hemicellulose from lignin to access the valuable sugars. Somerville explained how increased understanding of the plant cell wall can lead to development of energy crops that increase production of cellulose and hemicellulose in the plant cell wall and facilitate separation of cellulose and hemicellulose from lignin.
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Related news release: Scientific issues associated with carbon-neutral energy sources such as cellulosic ethanol
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