Can a Bacterium Save the World's Energy Crisis ?

This article is amazing! A tiny microbe can simplify the cellulosic ethanol production.

A team of researchers from the University of Florida have identified a bacterium names Paenibacillus, which is believed to make the cellulosic ethanol roduction easier.

This interesting microbe, found in decaying sweetgum tree, can break- down hemicellulose directly, avoiding further pretreatment. Because, earlier the problem faced was that when milder pretreatment was done, hemicelluloses weren’t broken down. Research is underway to find out of there are possibilities to genetically modify the bacteria so as to make ethanol itself. Hence, this bacterium helps a great deal in reducing the preprocessing steps for cellulosic ethanol production.

It is indeed amazing when I sit and think that a tiny organism can save the workd’s energy crisis. Amazing indeed! Cellulosic ethanol fuel is derived from plant material often thrown away as trash. Typically, the processes use genetically engineered bacteria or tricky chemical reactions to break down complex compounds in plant cell walls to produce simple sugar molecules that can be fermented into fuel-grade alcohol.

By engineering the bacteria already being used to produce ethanol to also process hemicelluloses the way this Paenibacillus does, the cellulosic ethanol production will be a lost more easier.

This was a accidental discovery. Actually, the scientist who identified this bacterium was using decaying sweet gum trees ( alligator trees) to grow mushrooms. He further wanted to study more about the genetics of the bacteria digesting the wood. The team has now mapped JDR-2’s genome, and Preston expects that, within the year, they will transfer genes behind JDR-2’s abilities to bacteria used to produce ethanol. This would be followed by the design of processes for the cost-effective production of ethanol from wood, agricultural residues and other potential energy crops.

Preprocessing cellulose is indeed an excellent idea and this bacteria might be the answer for it .But once you get down to getting all the sugar out you can gasify to make more out of the rest. Some companies like Range, Syntec and others have proved that this can be done. The yield approaching 200 gallons of alcohol per ton may be at hand.


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