For
hundreds of thousands of years, wood has been used in everyday life. From being
used as fuel to the frame of your house, wood is everywhere! There are many
uses for wood, including it being a food substance, not just for other
organisms, but for humans as well. Wood is comprised of cellulose, which is one
of the most abundant organic compounds on earth. In this article, researchers
did a study where they turned the cellulose from wood into a carbohydrate that
humans consume daily, starch.
Plants
produce approximately 180 billion tons of cellulose a year, and only in the
past few years have companies started to use the cellulose for biofuels. But
now there may be another new use for cellulose.
Bioprocess
engineer Y.-H. Percival Zhang, of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University, and his colleagues focused on cellulose and starch and the
similarities between the two. Starch makes up to 40% of people’s diets,
basically a majority of our diet compared to other things people consume. Cellulose,
as many of us know, is made up of sugar glucose molecules, as is starch. They
are just bonded in different ways.
To
begin their research, Zhang and colleagues took genes from certain species of
bacteria, fungi and potatoes in order to obtain the necessary enzymes. The
enzymes they needed were used in a few different steps. The first set of
enzymes were used to break down the cellulose to cellobiose, and the second set
of enzymes were then used to split the cellobiose apart into glucose molecules
and a molecule named G-1-P.
So
far the final product is a white powder that can be added to food with no taste
at the beginning, but after some chewing it tasted “slightly sweet.” Once this
process was over, the left over cellulose was turned into glucose, which was then
turned into biofuel.
Even
though this idea works, it is still not perfected on the financial part. In
order to have 200 kilograms of cellulose into 20 kilograms of starch, it would
cost about $1 million! Hopefully in the near future, people can take this idea
and make it not only more productive in the amount produce, but also a lot
cheaper to spread around the world!
Posted by: Cynthia Bui (1)
Would the purpose of turning wood into cellulose be made primarily for consumption? If so, wouldn't it be easier to stick to the starches we already know of since they are much cheaper and more readily available.
ReplyDeleteKimberly Ty (3)
Yeah, it would be primarily for consumption, in order to attempt to help end world hunger. But at the rate they are producing starch from raw cellulose and the coast, it is very ineffective.
DeleteCynthia Bui (1)
Although it sounds like a promising initiative towards ending world hunger, wouldn't the use of wood for break down into cellulose cause a decline in trees, deforestation, and ultimately effect habitats around the world? Since deforestation is such a growing problem, wouldn't we want to reduce the need to cut down trees, so wouldn't this be the opposite?
ReplyDeleteGabrielle Wertheim (3)
I agree with you, in the fact of many people cutting away at the forests. In this case they are using unedible plants, that in most cases would be left untouched by humans. But you do bring up a good point.
DeleteCynthia Bui (1)
I'm really interested in trying this starch derived from wood. It's great to see how chemistry can take natural substances and create products that can be used in different ways. This reminds me of Orgo Chem lab where we derived soap-like molecules from nutmeg.
ReplyDeletePosted by Poya Jafari (2)
I remember that lab! It was interesting. Yeah, that would be great if they could find a better way to utilize their sources. But Gabrielle mentions a good point on the fact that it could lead to a decline in "poplar trees" according to the article and possible lead to more deforestation, an ongoing and increasing problem this world has.
DeleteCynthia Bui (1)