Dimethylfuran and 5 hydroxymethyl furfural From Biomass

The biomass-derived chemical dimethylfuran, seen above, has been shown to possess combustion and emissions qualities competitive with gasoline.

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5 hydroxymethyl furfural, shown highlighted above, is also derived from biomass, and can serve as a platform for the production of renewable fuels and high value chemicals.

To this point, it is the production of this wide array of useful chemicals and fuels from biomass which has been demonstrated -- not necessarily their economical production at large scale. It will take a number of years to accomplish that.

It is best to see the future of biomass derived fuels and chemicals as a broad highway with many lanes of traffic. Not all lanes will reach the goal of profitable, large-scale production. Certainly not all lanes will reach the goal at the same time. And counter-intuitively, the high-speed lane may not be the lane which allows the largest flow of traffic in total.

There will be no magic bullet, instant replacement for geological hydrocarbons. That is why it is so important to maintain access to the wide array of geo-hydrocarbons for as long as possible. But as soon as the dieoff.orgiasts and the energy starvationists can be hounded out of public office, the prospects for a prosperous and expansive human future will enlarge vastly.