Chemical
Chemical engineers from UW-Madison College of Engineering and the founders of Virent Energy Systems have invented an environmentally friendly method of turning waste into fuel and energy. Cheese whey, corn stover, paper mill sludge and waste streams from food processors and many other businesses are rich in carbohydrates or sugars, the same energy source used by plants and animals. Researchers have developed a single-step, low-temperature, reforming process that can generate hydrogen and a wide range of fuels from sugars, ethylene glycol, and methane.