Patent-pending process holds promise for biofuel composition

Biofuel composition can be impaired by processes aimed at removing virus-like particles and recombinant proteins from the plant matter used in its production, according to biotechnology developer Medicago.

However, the company has now filed two patents for a process that it says should be able to enhance biofuel composition by removing those elements and the plant's own impurities in a single step.

President and chief executive officer Andy Sheldon says: "We have successfully applied our process to a broad range of virus-like particles and recombinant proteins such as antibodies."

This can help to remove the need for downstream purification, making the biofuel production process simpler and less costly to complete.

Medicago specialises in the development of proteins from plant sources, which it says are the world's most cost-effective source for the biological substances.

As well as cost advantages compared with alternatives such as egg-based generation, the firm adds that greenhouse-based protein growth can be scaled up rapidly to meet times of peak demand.