Common garden enzymes could be used to boost bio-ethanol production, according to new research.
The enzymes were successfully extracted from garden soil by Nadia Skorupa Parachin of Lund University, Sweden.
Ms Parachin had in mind the use of natural sugar xylose for ethanol production, which requires fast-acting enzymes in order to be effective.
She tested her enzymes for efficacy against alternatives and found that they were capable of binding to xylose more efficiently.
Ms Parachin's supervisor, professor Marie Gorwa-Grauslund, explained that despite this breakthrough, there is still some way to go before xylose bio-ethanol production becomes a reality.
"The process must be speeded up. But we hope that in the long term our method can help to make bioethanol production more efficient," she added.
The growing popularity of bio-ethanol is already having a widespread impact on the agricultural industry.
Earlier this year, Gleadell Agriculture urged British crop farmers to maintain diverse crops, despite the growing attractiveness of wheat as an ethanol crop for the future.
