By: Jessica Robertson
Many everyday products are oil-based,
including plastic, gasoline, and rubber; the non-renewable nature of these
materials means their scarcity is increasing. Research is underway heavily to
find new options for products so common in our world today. Biodiesel is a
perfect example of a renewable material that is not based on oil, being derived
instead from plants. While the invention of biodiesel advanced the renewable
energy sector, researchers are still searching for more earth-friendly options.
Isobutene,
a product ubiquitous in the chemical industry, will soon be derived from
plants, namely sugar. Research found that if sugar is introduced to a
particular microorganism, the product of the fermentation and digestion process
is gaseous isobutene. This process is highly renewable since sugar grows back,
making it a huge improvement on oil.
However, concern
arises when dealing with renewable material derived from edible plants; with so
much hunger in the world, is it really justifiable to use food for conversion
to energy rather than for feeding hungry mouths? For this reason, the pilot
plant in Germany is transitioning from sugar beet, which is edible, to sugar
from wood or straw, which is not edible.
Making the production of isobutene
completely independent from both oil and food production is a responsible
choice for the future of our planet.
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