Grass Eating Bacteria Produce Biofuel

Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Georgia have successfully engineered bacteria that eat switchgrass and convert it into ethanol by digesting it. This process is much faster and cheaper than any other method of producing biofuel. It is a wonderful re-producible resource, but has been much more expensive than other fuels, making biofuel largely economically impractical. The creation of the bacteria changes the game because it is cheaper than crude oil. The only issue is that it is not known if biofuel is any better for the environment that traditional fossil fuels. Although we are able to reproduce it and the source is plant matter, burning it may be just as harmful on the environment, so it doesn’t solve too many problems in that respect. However, the researchers ability to create the bacteria is a triumph and a stepping stone for other projects.

The next phase of this idea is taking place at Arizona State University. Here synthetic biologists are working on generating bacteria that can turn carbon dioxide into crude oil. If this process is successful it could change the world. One of the researchers on the project, Joel Garreau states that the chemical process to turn Co2 into crude oil takes 27 steps. They have a biotechnology lab where they are growing algae “and taking these 27 chemical steps and stitching them together in one organism.” It seems that our energy future lies in creating bacteria to make fuel for us. Using the power of bacteria’s biological process can quickly and cheaply create fuels like ethanol and crude oil. While the Co2 eating bacteria is still in the works, the grass eating and biofuel producing bacteria is a reality. The researchers are now mass producing the bacteria to get them up to an economically viable scale to work on larger scale production.