Instead of fossil fuels going in your gas tank, how about adding a pinch of salt? That may be the case in the future as a new process is under development to convert a type of salt into a biofuel. New properties of imidazolium salts (IMSs) could convert carbohydrates into versatile chemical compounds for biofuel production, according to a study by researchers at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN). Biofuels are currently the only sustainable source of liquid fuels available, but the lack of highly efficient methods to convert carbohydrates into chemical compounds for biofuel production is one reason for the slow down in any replacement of petroleum feedstock by biomass. [read more]