With the objective to produce bioethanol taking advantage of the cells metabolic activity, the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has developed methods for the efficient production of biofuels from residuals of agricultural cultivations. In addiction to bio-ethanol, taking advantage to the fermentation processes you could manufacture bioplastics, pigments and drugs. Opportune bioengineering changes in cellular metabolism and enzymatic functions are in development in order to concur to use the biomass as main raw material in place of oil and its derivatives.
Undoubtedly the substitution of the benzine with products of biological origin as bioethanol would resolve the problem of the emissions of CO2, as they would be balanced during the growth of the plants themselves. But how many hectares of cultivations (sugar cane, beet, etc) will have to be used in order to produce bio-ethanol in such amount to replace partially the fuel produced from oil? How many hectares of amazonian forest will have to be destroyed in order to make space to the extensive cultivations of soy and sugar cane? Perhaps the study of the Finnish institute moves in the right direction indicating as possible source of biomass the agricultural residuals (woods and cellulose): in this case the raw materials availability would be increased, but the fermentation processes taking to biofuel synthesis are more complex.