Tobacco could be biofuel of vehicles of future
December 31st, 2009 - 5:48 pm ICT by IANSWashington, Dec 31 (IANS) Researchers have identified a way of increasing oil content in tobacco leaves as a prelude to using these for biofuel.
In some instances, the modified tobacco plants produced 20-fold more oil in their leaves, said Vyacheslav Andrianov, assistant professor of cancer biology at Jefferson Medical College.
Tobacco can generate biofuel more efficiently than other agricultural crops. However, most of the oil is typically found in the seeds - tobacco seeds are composed of about 40 percent oil per dry weight, adds Andrianov.
Although seed oil has been tested for use as fuel in diesel engines, tobacco plants yield a modest quantity of seeds, or about 600 kg per acre.
Andrianov and his colleagues sought to find ways to engineer tobacco plants to have a higher oil content.
“Tobacco is very attractive as a biofuel because the idea is to use plants that aren’t used in food production,” he said.
“We have found ways to genetically engineer the plants so that their leaves express more oil. In some instances, the modified plants produced 20-fold more oil in the leaves.”
“Based on these data, tobacco represents an attractive and promising ‘energy plant’ platform, and could also serve as a model for the utilisation of other high-biomass plants for biofuel production,” concludes Andrianov.
These findings were published online in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
- Tobacco plant leaves can be used to make efficient biofuel - Dec 31, 2009
- Seaweed can be an unlimited source of biofuel - Jul 04, 2011
- US to invest $510 mn in advanced biofuels - Aug 17, 2011
- Burning bush plant promises low-cal vegetable oil, biofuels - May 21, 2010
- Cheap, high-yield 'bio-oil' could reduce reliance on fossil fuels - Nov 26, 2010
- Aeromexico carries out first transcontinental biofuel flight - Aug 02, 2011
- Chinese plane flies on biofuel - Oct 28, 2011
- Tobacco's content of toxic nicotine 'makes it an excellent green pesticide' - Oct 28, 2010
- Indian-origin scientist unveils new, efficient technique of biofuel production - Jul 01, 2010
- Canola Oil Production Eyed By Penn State Researchers - Sep 04, 2010
- Heat-loving fungi open way to greener fuels - Oct 05, 2011
- Poisonous shrub Jatropha acts as natural pain killer - Jul 12, 2011
- New yeast strain 'cuts major drawbacks of biofuel production methods' - Dec 28, 2010
- New pressure-cooking technique converts algae into cheap biofuel - Apr 23, 2010
- UK company claims it can 'grow diesel' - Mar 01, 2011
Tags: agricultural crops, assistant professor, cancer biology, colleagues, diesel engines, energy plant, food production, instances, jefferson medical college, kg, oil content, plant biotechnology, prelude, seed oil, tobacco plants, tobacco seeds, vyacheslav