Pour l'instant ils sont issus de plantes existantes (colza, tournesol, blé, mais ...) plus ou moins selectionnées.
Ce qui se profile à moyen terme c'est maintenant de modifier génétiquement des plantes afin de viser un rendement accru en production de bio-carburants.
Je lance donc le sujet spécifique relatif à cette question.
http://www.energybulletin.net/12212.html
Les U.S.A vont décoder l' ADN du Soja afin d'accroitre la production de biodiesel (ma traduction du titre ci dessous)
avec l'article original complet :U.S. Will Decode Soybean DNA to Ramp Up Biodiesel Production
Two U.S. federal government departments have joined forces to decode the DNA of the soybean as a prelude to using the bean to make biodiesel fuel. The sequencing of the soybean genome is the first project resulting from a new agreement between the Departments of Energy and Agriculture to share resources and coordinate the study of plant and microbial genomics.
"This agreement demonstrates a joint commitment to support high-quality genomics research and integrated projects to meet the nation’s agriculture and energy challenges,” said Dr. Colien Hefferan, administrator of Agriculture Department's Cooperative State Research, Extension and Economics Service (CSREES), who signed the agreement for the USDA.
"Both agencies will leverage their expertise and synergize activities involving agricultural and energy related plants and microbes," said Dr. Ari Patrinos, associate director of science for biological and environmental research with the Energy Department. ...
The new partnership of the Energy and Agriculture Departments to undertake biotech development is part of a broad push by the federal government and private industry to move the country away from a petrolem based economy. ...
“Biotechnology is creating a new industrial revolution based on biology instead of petroleum. As biotech processes replace old rust belt technologies, they are enabling a transformation from a petroleum-based economy to a biobased economy,” said Brent Erickson, executive vice
president of BIO’s Industrial and Environmental Section.
(17 Jan 2006)
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2006 ... -17-02.asp
le commentaire de energybulletin : (qui est trés circonspect, et prefererait la fabrication de carburant depuis la biomasse comme le procédé BTL)
As the above article points out, using human or near-human quality food sources as feedstock for biodiesel is grotesque. Organic liquid fuels can be made from woody cellulose which has a much higher EROEI; than annual food crops and can grow on less arable land. Soybean production is one of the destructive agricultural practices on the planet, and transgenic varieties of plants often are more productive only in ideal conditions, demanding higher inputs of petro-chemicals. Whether biotech can actually improve the EROEI of agriculture remains to be seen. We're going to need help from every worthwhile technology available to deal with energy descent, but a combination of more biodiversity, more perennials and intelligent design in agriculture seems to be a more promising approach -AF
