What will happen if you can succesfully develop an economically-viable product that takes agricultural waste and turn it into diesel fuel? At the current growth rate of oil price, you will be very very rich!
LS9 in the Silicon Valley is trying to do exactly that by using genetically-modified bacteria. They are not quite there yet, but so far, the results look good (though a little too good to be true).
According to the Times Online article, crude oil is only a few molecular stages removed from the fatty acids normally excreted by yeast or E.coli during fermentation. So by modifying them by custom designing their DNA, it is possible get them to 'excrete' diesel fuel.
Of course, for fermentation to take place, you will need raw material. This is not a new concept, as the biofuels industry is already using feedstock such as sugar cane and corn to produce fuel. However, activists are complaining because some countries (namely Brazil) are clearing rainforests to grow these crops and some people also think it is wrong to use food crops for fuel while so many people are starving.
So LS9 has decide to feed their bacteria with agricultural waste such as wheat straw and woodchips, and the experiments have produced positive results. What's even better, is that their genetically-modified bacteria produce a substance that is almost pump-ready so that the energy-intensive distillation process can be shortened.
Now, I think the idea is great, but it is really too good to be true.
Anyway, the article has left some questions unanswered:
LS9 in the Silicon Valley is trying to do exactly that by using genetically-modified bacteria. They are not quite there yet, but so far, the results look good (though a little too good to be true).
According to the Times Online article, crude oil is only a few molecular stages removed from the fatty acids normally excreted by yeast or E.coli during fermentation. So by modifying them by custom designing their DNA, it is possible get them to 'excrete' diesel fuel.
Of course, for fermentation to take place, you will need raw material. This is not a new concept, as the biofuels industry is already using feedstock such as sugar cane and corn to produce fuel. However, activists are complaining because some countries (namely Brazil) are clearing rainforests to grow these crops and some people also think it is wrong to use food crops for fuel while so many people are starving.
So LS9 has decide to feed their bacteria with agricultural waste such as wheat straw and woodchips, and the experiments have produced positive results. What's even better, is that their genetically-modified bacteria produce a substance that is almost pump-ready so that the energy-intensive distillation process can be shortened.
Now, I think the idea is great, but it is really too good to be true.
Anyway, the article has left some questions unanswered:
- What exactly makes the LS9 bacteria different from other biofuels in that it can do without sugar to kick-start the fermentation process?
- If the product is crude oil, then it is still a 'dirty' hydrocarbon. Why is the article claiming the fuel to be carbon negative? It may be a renewable source of energy, but certainly not carbon-negative.
For more information:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4133668.ece
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