The goal of Biofuels is to find a suitable replacement for gasoline or diesel fuel that is not only replenishable, but that is easily produced. Biofuels are alternatives or replacements for our existing fuels.

Biofuels are made from biological materials from plants and animals such as wood pulp or animal waste. They are produced using natural methods, and then harvested and refined in a variety of ways. Cane sugar, for example, can have its juice harvested for food purposes, and the remaining solid material, called 'bagasse,' processed for fuel. They can be broken down by fermentation or even accelerated by adding enzymes to digest the residue into simpler molecules such as ethanol and methane. Other materials include starches, sugars, and even sewage and waste water.

Methane (Biogas) makes an excellent source of fuel as a replacement for natural gas. Methanol is easy to produce but difficult to make and rather unsafe for storage, transport, and dispensing as it is a corrosive. Yet Ethanol is a promising fuel alternative to gasoline and diesel fuel, as well as gasoline-ethanol mixes such as the recently growing use of E85 fuel in the United States. Brazil leads the world in alternative energy from Biofuels after being hit especially hard during the fuel crises, now producing billions of liters of fuel as early as the late 80's. They have developed crops and local farms for the growth of biofuel materials, such as sugar cane and sorghum. 

Another interesting biofuel production method is that of hydrogen. Using an existing biological process in living organisms, photosynthesis creates hydrogen that is normally used to help produce sugars, but can be harvested from the live organism. This is one use of single-cell algae as a biofuel mechanism which is not actually harvested itself. These release hydrogen gas as they are exposed to sunlight in a natural setting. 

Another promising technique is to generate hydrogen from the processes of certain enzymes. They can consume sources like wood pulp and newspapers to create glucose and another enzyme can consume the glucose to produce hydrogen. There is a chance that perhaps all our recycled newspapers and garden waste can someday be used to power our homes!

We believe there are a variety of solutions to our world's problems, and alternative energy (regardless of your politics) is a noble goal. We are working together with customers, primarily through our Circaflex family of products to create devices that will help in the search for Biofuels.