PLANTS - Sugar, not oil: New possibilities for isobutene from wood sugar

No more oil – renewable raw materials are the future. This motto not only applies to biodiesel, but also to isobutene, a basic product used in the chemical industry. In a pilot plant researchers now want to obtain isobutene from sugar instead of oil for the first time. And in order not to threaten food supplies, in the long term the sugar should come from wood or straw and not from sugar beet ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140325094816.ht