Researchers from the Department of Chemistry at York have discovered a family of enzymes that can degrade hard-to-digest biomass into its constituent sugars.

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The scientists said their research could unlock the potential for 'second generation' biofuels – those which are not produced from agricultural crops. Within the EU, debate is raging over support for first generation biofuels, which do come from agricultural feed-stocks.

Those arguing for continued support for such fuels claim that cutting funding for the fuels would reduce Europe's domestic fuel production and impact on those who have invested heavily in the fuels. On the other hand, evidence suggests that production of first generation biofuels leads to indirect land-use change, driving up food prices and transforming carbon storing 'natural' lands into emitting areas of agricultural production, increasing food prices, and in the case of certain 'vegetable-based' fuels, producing more pollutants than conventional fossil fuels.

Environment groups therefore suggest EU support should focus on facilitating the development of biofuels, which can be produced from waste materials or algae, ending conflicts with food crops and the environmental impacts of first generation fuels. However, despite the potential of second-generation fuels, production of these fuels remains in its infancy, and research funding is needed to develop the fuels further.

The York researchers' work focuses on the use of 'difficult-to-digest' sources of fuel, including plant stems, wood chips, cardboard waste and insect/crustacean shells, which they claim offer potential alternatives to easier-to-digest sources of first-generation fuels, such as corn starch. Finding a way of breaking down these sources into their constituent sugars to allow them to be fermented through to bioethanol is regarded as the 'Holy Grail' of biofuel research, the York team said.

Professors Paul Walton and Gideon Davies at led the work, along with Professor Bernie Henrissat, from Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille. By studying the biological origins and the detailed chemistry of the enzyme family, the researchers have shown that Nature has a wide range of methods of degrading biomass which humankind can now harness in its own endeavour to produce sustainable biofuels.

Professor Walton commented, "There's no doubt that this discovery will have an impact on not only those researchers around the globe working on how to solve the problems associated with second generation biofuel generation, but – more importantly – also on the producers of bioethanol who now have a further powerful tool to help them generate biofuel from sustainable sources such as waste plant matter."