Company Engineers E. Coli to Make Fuel

Researchers at biotech company LS9, Inc., have engineered E. coli bacteria to produce a substance very similar to diesel fuel after consuming pretty much any agricultural product. The bacteria—a harmless strain of E. coli—can also be engineered to produce gasoline or jet fuel, the researchers say.

The fact that the bacteria can use any type of plant material is promising, as they will be able to produce fuel from waste materials, not just foor products. And because the bacteria are producing finished fuel products—instead of, say, ethanol—they can use the existing distribution system, such as pipelines and tankers. Ethanol cannot use oil pipelines because it will corrode them.

The company is working through issues of scaling up the process now, but hopes to have large-scale commercial production within three to four years. They do not, however, expect their product to do anything more than supplement oil as an energy source, not replace it.

Best of all was the title for this article on CNN.com: Lab Makes Renewable Diesel Fuel From E. Coli Poop. That made me laugh.

Fuel from Algae

As a general rule, I've been opposed to fuel sources made from food products... mostly because it diverts production from food at a time when people are starving around the world and food prices are soaring. But I don't object to biofuels in general, and that's why I'm excited by efforts to turn algae into diesel fuel.

Some strains of algae are ideal for fuel production because they produce higher concentrations of natural oils than other plants. Additionally, they don't take up land that could otherwise be used for growing crops, because algae grows on the water or in bioreactors. Oh yeah, and by using algae, we're not diverting food away from people (unless, of course, they're eating algae... ew).

Questions still remain about whether or not algae will be viable, both economically and environmentally. But either way, it's a lot better than using corn or soybeans.

Researchers Develop Methods of Creating Bio-Diesel from Algae

Utah State University researchers are using an innovative approach that takes oil from algae and converts it to bio-diesel fuel. USU is currently conducting research on algae and plans to produce an algae-bio-diesel that is cost-competitive by 2009. Algae, plainly referred to as pond scum, can produce up to 10,000 gallons of oil per acre and can be grown virtually anywhere.

The world today relies on fossil fuels to supply much of its energy, and there are currently 13 terawatts of energy used per year, a number that is expected to double by the middle of this century. Bio-diesel is a clean and carbon-dioxide-neutral fuel that is becoming more popular, but most of the current product comes from soybean and corn oil. As supply and demand grows, so does the price of soybeans and corn. People and animals rely on soybean and corn as a food commodity, eventually causing competition between commodities and growing enough product. Meeting this demand would require the world to use virtually all of its arable land.

Creating bio-diesel from algae would be a huge step forward toward a renewable energy source, and would greatly improve environmental output compared to today's petroleum-based gasoline engines. Algae grows just about everywhere (whether you want it to or not), so it would be readily available in many parts of the world, creating a more dispersed source of fuel than we have currently.