CRI听力:UK Bio-fuel

Britain is famed for its green and pleasant countryside. Its rolling hills and lush grass are iconic features of the landscape.

But in one part of Wales, scientists claim they can now turn the grassland into a highly lucrative bio-fuel that could replace the need for oil products in everything from plastics and chemicals to medicines and cosmetics.

The pioneering 32 million US dollar project taking place at Aberystwyth University's Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences is aiming to develop super-advanced breeds of rye-grass and miscanthus. The grasses contain extremely high levels of sugars that can easily be converted into a new type of bio-fuel.

What makes this project so exciting is the ability for the grasses to be planted in almost any location, even areas not suitable for crops.

Once cut and harvested, the rye grass and miscanthus are pressed through a specially constructed machine to obtain a unique sugar-rich juice. Dr. Mike Morris, research scientist at Aberystwyth University explains.

"What we've got here is a perennial Rye grass that doesn't need planting each year. It contains an awful lot of water soluble sugars that we can convert quite easily to alcohol or other end products like lactic acid."

The grass passes through a grinder which separates the fibers from the juice. The juice is collected in vats, and the pressed grass is also recycled or fed to animals.

This liquid is transferred to a laboratory where it undergoes a fermentation process that sees it converted into alcohol and ethanol, the key ingredients that are used to produce the bio-fuel.

The lactic acid that is produced is purified to create a powdered substance used by manufacturers to make valuable chemicals and commercial products, ranging from cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food products and paints, as well as environmentally friendly plastics.

Research scientist at Aberystwyth University, Dr. David Bryant, says even household products could be made using this process.

"One application is to produce plastic cups like these and these are biodegradable so not only are we producing plastics that are normally produced by the petrochemical industry so we are not reliant on that so much but they'll also degrade so you pop these into your compost bin or put them into an anaerobic digester and it can produce methane and then you'll not only get a product but you'll also get a fuel source for it."

Scientists make use of all the waste produced during the process and claim to recycle one hundred percent of the grass product. It's hoped that one day soon they'll be able to turn this into a separate bio-fuel.

Aberystwyth University's Dr. Steven Fish says these developments open up many possibilities for the future.

"What it does as well as making bio-char is it makes bio-oil. Now the interesting application of that is, could it be used as a fuel in cars? Could you use it as a fuel say for example in central heating systems at home? Part of the research effort with this equipment is to analyze the bio-char and the oil and just see what the chemical composition of it is."

The research could change the way bio-fuels are manufactured. The project has attracted worldwide interest and the scientists involved in the research claim it could have a major impact on how we generate our fuels in the future.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.