Skip to Content

Supercomputer helping crack cellulose enzyme mysteries



The San Diego Supercomputer Center is crunching a few billion numbers to help scientists produce a virtual look into producing ethanol from cellulose. We know that making ethanol from cellulose feedstocks is more efficient in the long run than corn, and cellulose feedstocks won't bother the world's food supply. But engineers have a tough time breaking down the cellulose into sugars, which are then fermented into ethanol. Scientists are conducting molecular simulations to improve the conversion.

This virtual microscope allows scientists to see a process that occurs far too fast to capture visually. According to the center, the simulation runs about 6 million time steps over a 12-nanosecond timeframe. This is considered long in molecular terms but requires some 80,000 processor hours on the computer.

[Source: San Diego Supercomputer Center]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.



Featured Galleries

  • 2010 Mercedes-Benz ML450 hybrid
  • Governor Schwarzenegger with the Zero S
  • Peugeot Concept HYbrid3 Evolution
  • Volkswagen e-up! concept
  • Dacia Logan MCV Hi-Flex
  • Citroen C-Zero
  • Italwin Ducati City Pearl
  • SEMA 2009: Toyota Prius Aerius Concept
  • Peugeot BB1 concept visits London
  • 2010 Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion
  • Mavizen TTX02 Electric Racebike
  • 1 Liter Racing League

Categories


Autoblog

Daily Finance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum