Biofuels: new fuels from bacteria
Friday, December 08, 2006
Another interesting article about biofuel / biodiesel which I read from EngineerLive.com. Well, there'll be a lot more to be discovered about biofuel as well as huge area to explore...The following article is about biofuel from bacteria....
‘Microdiesel’ can also use readily available bulk plant materials or even recycled waste paper if engineering of the production strain is more advanced
A breakthrough in the production of biofuels has been developed by scientists in Germany. Research published in the September 2006 issue of Microbiology, a Society for General Microbiology journal, describes how specially engineered bacteria could be used to make fuel completely from food crops.
“Biodiesel is an alternative energy source and a substitute for petroleum-based diesel fuel,” explains Professor Steinbüchel of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster. “A growing number of countries are already making biodiesel on a large scale, but the current method of production is still costly”.
“Biodiesel production depends on plant oils obtained from seeds of oilseed crops like rapeseed or soy”, explains Professor Steinbüchel. “However, production of plant oils has a huge demand of acreage which is one of the main factors limiting a more widespread use of biodiesel today. In addition, biodiesel production must compete with the production of food, which also raises some ethical concerns”.
Microdiesel, as the scientists have named it, is different from other production methods because it not only uses the same plant oils, but can also use readily available bulk plant materials or even recycled waste paper if engineering of the production strain is more advanced.
Also, it does not rely on the addition of toxic methanol from fossil resources, like many other biodiesels. The bacteria developed for use in the Microdiesel process make their own ethanol instead. This could help to keep the costs of production down and means that the fuel is made from 100 per cent renewable resources.
“Due to the much lower price of the raw materials used in this new process, as well as their great abundance, the Microdiesel process can result in a more widespread production of biofuel at a competitive price in the future”, says Professor Steinbüchel.
There is a growing number of fuels used in cars and homes that are produced with the help of microbes. UK ministers are considering doubling the targets for the amount of biofuels sold in Britain by 2015.
The Society for General Microbiology disseminates current research findings in microbiology in its four journals. The SGM is the largest microbiology society in Europe, and has over 5,500 members worldwide. The Society provides a common meeting ground for scientists working in research and in fields with applications in microbiology including medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmaceuticals, industry, agriculture, food, the environment and education.
posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 10:22 PM,
3 Comments:
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At Saturday, December 09, 2006,
said...
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yeah..heard about this somewhere before. Really interesting, tailored your bacteria according to the purpose.
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At Saturday, December 09, 2006,
said...
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terlupa...man utd 3-1 man city
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At Sunday, December 10, 2006,
said...
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He he...sekarang kita dah 9 point di depan....harapnya chealsea kena belasah dgn arsnel...biar kita menang....yeah...hidup man-u
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