The next generation of fuel: the Sunflower

Most of us are already aware of the fact that sunflowers are used for oil production and to make biodiesel (a non-petroleum-based diesel fuel consisting of short chain alkyl (methyl or ethyl) esters, made by transesterification of vegetable oil or animal fat (tallow), which can be used (alone, or blended with conventional petrodiesel) in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles).
Steve Knapp (University of Georgia scholar) will start a detailed study of silverleaf and Algodones dune sunflowers, both of which  are woody-stemmed species that grow as tall as 21 feet. The discovery lies in the fact that these species can produce huge amounts of cellulosic biomass, which can be converted into ethanol.
The bad part is that the silverleaf and Algodones dune sunflowers are wild species and domestication can take a lot of time.
But where there’s a will, there’s a way, so with funds of $1.2 million from the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Defense, $500,000 from seed companies, and $400,000 from the USDA Plant Genome program, Knapp can start  and determine if the sunflower can become a serious contender in the ethanol race.

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