The future of ethanol

http://discovermagazine.com/2008/oct/03-anything-into-ethanol

This article focuses on the future of ethanol and the science behind it. New companies are testing emerging technologies in the production of ethanol from gases produced by waste products (garbage, wood chips, etc.). Companies like Coskata and Range Fuels are establishing new methods of producing ethanol at higher yields than what corn currently allows and for much cheaper. They claim that the $1 per gallon of ethanol pinnacle is possible with this technology. One of the key elements that allows these companies to bring the price down is using a bacteria to ferment the syngas (product from gasification of the source) into ethanol. As the science involved in this process improves and the projects begin to scale up, this promises to be the future of ethanol production.