 |
Researchers at Kobe University say they have found a possible way to turn bits of crustaceans and insects into ethanol for about the same cost as producing the fuel from corn.
Chitin, the stuff that gives the exoskeletons of such creatures as crabs and beetles their toughness, consists of chains of sugar and nitrogen molecules. Also common in the cell walls of fungi and bacteria, it can be chemically broken down into a variety of sugars. Chitin is regarded as the second-most-abundant natural polymer on Earth, after the plant fiber cellulose.
|
Post a Comment