Biocatalysis Information and Commentary About Biofuels and Biotechnology
  • Could Tobacco Gain Acceptance as a Biofuel Crop?

    Jan 4

    Here’s an amusing news item. According to researchers at the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories at Thomas Jefferson University, tobacco could be a superior biofuel crop. By genetic modification, the oil accumulation in tobacco leaves was increased to 6.8% of dry weight. With tobacco leaf productivity near 1.5 tons per acre, adding the oil in leaves to the oil in tobacco seeds ((approximately 0.24 tons/acre), the total oil yield could increase to as high as .34 tons, or 90 gallons, per acre — 60% higher than oil yields from soybeans.

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