New Biofuel-Producing Bacteria Discovered
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Scientists from the University of Maryland will report in the Journal of Theoretical Biology that they have isolated several different strains of bacteria that make high concentrations of biofuels from cellulosic biomass or from carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas.
The authors isolated bacteria that make high concentrations of alcohols including ethanol and 1-butanol, and other strains that make hydrocarbons, like hexane and octane. These compounds are similar to components already found in gasoline.
Although the Department of Energy and many investors have invested millions of dollars trying to genetically engineer organisms like these, the scientists from Maryland led by UM professor Rick Korn say that such organisms are already common in nature. The reason the fuel doesn’t accumulate in natural environments is because it is more thermodynamically favorable to make other products. When the products are made in nature, they are converted to other products by different organisms.
Using mathematical models of natural ecosystems incorporating the laws of thermodynamics, the authors identified conditions that favor production of desired fuels. When they applied those conditions to mixed cultures of organisms taken from the rumen, or first stomach chamber of a cow, the desired fuel-producing organisms thrived and were enriched in the culture. Eventually, using those favorable conditions, the fuel-producing bacteria were isolated.
…
The organisms may also be used to produce fuels from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Some companies such as Ineos Bio, Lanzatech, Coskata, and Oakbio are developing methods to produce fuels from carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas. Again, a major limitation is the low concentration of alcohols produced. The organisms reported in the article are tolerant to high concentrations of ethanol or butanol. READ MORE Abstract (Science Direct/Journal of Theoretical Biology)
