Tobacco's Possible Next Life as Fuel Source

While smoking rates are thankfully on the decline, we may not be altogether ready to say goodbye to the tobacco plant. As Scientific American informs us, tobacco just might (with a few modifications) be looking at a successful second career as a biofuel source.

Tobacco, it turns out, is terrific at producing lots of biomass relatively quickly. Furthermore, the chemistry of the tobacco plant's biomass makes it suitable for use as a biofuel feedstock. But a bit of genetic engineering is needed to help it reach its maximum potential.

The plant's naturally produced oils that render it a possible source of energy are produced in the seeds. As Scientific American points out, the problem is that the tobacco plant simply does not produce very many of them.

With the benefit of genetic engineering of the plant, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have been able to trick the leaves themselves, and not just the seeds, to get into the business of plant oil production. With the modifications to the plant, the researchers have been able to achieve plant oil production nearing 7 percent of the overall mass of the plant, rendering it a much more suitable candidate as an energy source.

Citing the recent Plant Biotechnology Journal presenting the findings, Scientific American quotes a written statement by research duo Vyacheslav Andrianov and Nikolai Borisjuk as they suggest we consider tobacco's possible shift from going into our rigs instead of cigs:

"In the search for alternative biofuel plant resources, tobacco has been largely overlooked as it is considered primarily as an expensive crop grown for smoking. When grown for energy production instead of smoking, tobacco can generate a large amount of inexpensive biomass more efficiently than almost any other agricultural crop."

Photo courtesy of Eyecoin, via Wikimedia Commons