Researchers led by James Dumesic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have produced 2,5 dimethylfuran (DMF), a potential new transportation fuel. Currently it hasn't been produced commercially and the environmental impacts of DMF are largely unknown. Since this process begins with fructose the same materials that are used to produce ethanol can be used in DMF production. This fuel has several advantages over ethanol. Most importantly DMF has a 40% higher energy density than ethanol. It's similar to the densities of petroleum based fuels. Not only does DMF provide more energy it also requires less energy to be produced than ethanol. Thus the costs of DMF wouldn't be anymore than ethanol, maybe less. It is also not water soluble so it would be easier to blend with gasoline. In the process of producing DMF an important chemical intermediate, hydroxymethylfuran (HMF) is produced. Ethanol has no such intermediate. Many of these intermediates which are made from petroleum or natural gas are used to produce plastics, drugs, and fuels. Using HMF as the intermediate to make these products would be more environmentally friendly. Since this process is similar to that of petroleum that industry's knowledge of scaling things up would be useful.

Engineers developed higher-energy liquid transportation fuel from sugar, James Beal, UW-Madison News, 5/20/07.
http://www.news.wisc.edu/13881
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=4AF8E5B D-E7F2-99DF-37013D71D6975B0E&chanID=sa007

Learn more about this author, Erik Markusson.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Is DMF a green alternative to ethanol?
We want to hear your view. Write now!