Team:Wisconsin-Madison/biofuels

Biofuel refers to any number of products that can be derived from biomass, and most commonly refers to alkyl esters (biodiesel) or alchohols, but can also refer to combustible gases and other hydrocarbons. The majority of biofuel research and production is focused on alternative sources of energy for transportation. Biofuel interest is primarily motivated from the need for more renewable fuels, due to the decreasing supply of petroleum and increasing gasoline prices. There is a lot of ongoing research into more efficient production of these kinds of biofuels. Our goal this summer is to successfully engineer both ethanol and n-alkane biosensors to aid in the process of biofuel production. Biosensors could potentially offer the same sensing accuracy as current techniques, but for a lower cost. Our biosensors will use red fluorescent protein (RFP) to fluoresce in the presence of either ethanol or n-alkanes. The amount of RFP produced in the presence of either of these compounds will (ideally) be proportional to their concentration in solution.

Learn more about Alkane sensors.

Image Source: http://wildbirdblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/corn1.jpg