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Since then, the company has been working with strains of S. degradans, identifying sets of enzymes responsible for breaking down a variety of material, from newspapers to dead plants to solid waste. Hutcheson and his colleagues switched on certain genes to increase the activity of these enzymes, and turned off other genes that controlled inhibitory behaviors of the microbe, such as those that tell it to stop feeding. As a result, the genetically modified organism pumps out significantly more enzymes than it normally would.
Laughlin and his colleagues recently ran the organism through a trial and found that the organism chewed through one ton of cellulosic plant fiber, converting the pulp into sugar within 72 hours--a process that normally takes years in the wild. "Right now, we're working on a 24-to-72-hour timescale," says Laughlin. "It's more an economic question to make it faster, but at what cost? So we're working on a whole host of protocols of processing across different timescales to figure out an optimum run."
The company is pairing the microbe with a yeast strain that converts sugar into ethanol as the microbe breaks down cellulose. Zymetis's goal is to develop manufacturing units able to produce around 10 million gallons of ethanol a year--a relatively modest output. But Laughlin says that thinking smaller could lead to more efficient, local production of ethanol, and he envisions partnering with paper mills and solid-waste facilities to produce ethanol on-site.
"If you look at a corn-ethanol plant, it's this big hulking factory," says Laughlin. "We'd rather locate smaller efficient plants in a distributed fashion at the locations where this waste fiber is available, and in so doing, we pick up a lot of efficiency, and can get to market faster, and don't have to farm fiber." Laughlin says that the company aims to set up a pilot co-location facility with an undisclosed partner by mid-2010.
Qteros, a biotechnology company located in Marlborough, MA, is using similar methods to scale up cellulosic-ethanol production. Researchers there are engineering a microbe that combines the last two stages of ethanol production: converting cellulose into sugar, and turning sugar into ethanol. William Frey, CEO of Qteros, says that Zymetis's approach keys in on a major challenge in making cellulosic ethanol affordable.
"A big chunk of the cost is associated with pretreatment and also with enzyme hydrolysis," says Frey. "The industry is looking for technologies that are economic and scalable, and microbial solutions have the ability to reduce the number of steps and cost, and that's a big piece."
Findings show that turning biomass into electricity is more beneficial than turning it into transportation fuels.
Making ethanol from corn is expensive. Better biofuels are years away from the gas tank. Farmers are reluctant to change their practices. But do we really have any alternative to biofuels?
Cellulose from garbage would be a useful... but from crops would eventually turn the soil into clay, and will create deserts out of farmlands.
The cellulose from food crops needs to be plowed back into the earth to replenish the organic soil that is required for strong growth and productivity.
Grow a bean plant in clay and rich soil and see the remarkable difference. (one of my boy scouts experiments)
The second thought I had, what is the environmental impact of this super bacteria, could it be the bacteria that eat the earth???
To prevent this inject a killer gene to kill the bacteria if it escaped into the environment.
One advantage of garbage cellulose is that it will also go a long way in solving the garbage dump problems.
ron hansing
Responsibilities and Expectations
While this is a step forward, I would like to see them spend considerable effort to prove that the bug poses no threat to the environment.. the track record of new species being introduced as yet sadly has not turned out well.
I know that the effort has been taken so that the technology may be commercialized,but how rapidly could they possibly impact the global scenario. It would be a truly ideal and noble deed if the creators of the but distribute it for free to all nations to collectively address the Energy as well as the Global Warming Crisis. Most small scale industries would not be able to afford to buy the technology given the present economic crisis !!
Nevertheless I am delighted that we now have a breakthrough.
Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.
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mkogrady
425 Comments
Throwing a Goofy Question Out to the Readers
These Biofuel Bugs will be very useful in our quest for energy independence. However, they're geared towards large commercial applications.
I create a lot of potential biomass every year at my home through grass clippings, leaves and general yard maintenance. Is there a way to acquire a Home Owners or DIY version of these biofuel critters to decompose the yard waste at home and create a small amount of ethanol I can blend with my automobile fuel by myself?
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ronwagn
33 Comments
Re: Throwing a Goofy Question Out to the Readers
You could easily create methane gas with yard waste. Especially with a large portion of manure. Methanol is also a possibility. Caterpillar sells some engines that run on methane from garbage dumps. They are probably too big for home use though. You can heat and cook with methane. It is a form of natural gas. Mother Earth news had an article , years ago, about how to make methane with a 50 gallon barrel and an inner tube. Do some searches on the web.
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BetterFuture
1 Comment
Re: Throwing a Goofy Question Out to the Readers
You'd not only have to have a big ol' vat in which to run the fermentation, but you'd have to them turn those sugars into ethanol and then distill or purify the ethanol from the soup... it's probably more appropriate to compost all that biomass, and put it on some food crops. They'll appreciate it, and so will you (as a tomato plant is Nature's best way of turning dead leaves and grass into dinner). Much less hassle is involved in installing a solar DHW system on a south-facing roof, or (if you're really up for hands-on involvement) getting old fry-oil from fast food restaurants and processing it into biodiesel for your car. You've got the right spirit, though ! :)
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