August 13, 2008

Weekly News UpdateFuel from E. coli Poo?

Researchers at a California biotechnology company have developed bacteria that excrete diesel fuel as a waste product. The scientists' research is based on the same principle behind the formation of fossil fuels. As you may recall, fossil fuels form from the decomposition of plants and other organic materials over time—typically over a period of hundreds of millions of years or more. Because fossil fuels take such a long time to form, scientists (and the general public) are worried about the potential depletion of fossil fuels in the near future. This depletion is especially worrying as fossil fuels are a major source of energy used to heat homes and power vehicles across the world.

Biofuels, which are fuels made from renewable resources, have been promoted as one possible viable alternative to fossil fuels. One example of a biofuel is ethanol, which is made from organic material such as corn or switchgrass. Although relatively easily-produced, ethanol currently requires a separate system for distribution as it can corrode pipes typically used to distribute oil. Vehicle engines also need to be modified in order to use ethanol effectively as a fuel source. Given these constraints, researchers have continued to look for another viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Researchers at LS9 Inc, a private biotech firm, genetically altered a harmless form of E. coli bacteria to produce diesel fuel after being fed plant material. Almost any plant material works as a food source for the bacteria—including materials such as wood chips, which would otherwise be thrown away as a waste product from the lumber industry. This innovation gets around the complaint from some biofuel-industry critics that resources that could be used as food for humans should not be used to make fuel.

At the moment, the process of making diesel fuel from bacteria excrement is not ready for wide-scale production—the researchers think that large-scale production may become a reality in three to four years. Even so, researchers realize that the production of fuel from bacteria is not the end-all solution to the problem of finding alternatives to fossil fuels. However, they hope that the results of their research can, at the very least, be a part of the solution, and perhaps lead to even more innovations in the future.

More to Explore

• Lab Makes Renewable Diesel Fuel From E. coli Poop
• Diesel Fuel from E. coli [video]

Last updated August 13, 2008 | Comments (1) | Permalink | Weekly News Update