GUELPH, Ont. — Three scientists at the University of Guelph are studying how to turn corn husks, stalks, straw, wood chips and even leaves into usable biofuels.

Their three-year $600,000 study is examining how to break down plant cellulose and unlock the biofuels from the wasted biomass.

Professor Anthony Clarke says making ethanol from plant cellulose would offer an alternative to using food crops to produce energy and would also be a lucrative use for waste biomass.

Cellulose ethanol is made by treating fibre with enzymes to yield sugars that are then fermented to ethanol for fuel.

But, turning plant cellulose into ethanol is more difficult and physicist John Dutcher says finding ways to make this process more efficient has become "the holy grail of agriculture."