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Rainforest Fungus Synthesizes Diesel

Posted by kdawson on from the gliocladium-roseum dept.

Fluffeh alerts us to a report of a fungus that naturally produces diesel fuel, or something very close to it. "A fungus that lives inside trees in the Patagonian rain forest naturally makes a mix of hydrocarbons that bears a striking resemblance to diesel, biologists announced today. And the fungus can grow on cellulose, a major component of tree trunks, blades of grass and stalks that is the most abundant carbon-based plant material on Earth. ... [T]the paper's authors admit that the technique is far from any sort of industrial production. 'This report presents no information on the cost-effectiveness or other details to make G. roseum an alternative fuel source,' they write." NPR has an interview with the fungus's discoverer.

7 of 244 comments (clear)

  1. Your sig.. by nullchar · · Score: 4, Informative

    I used to be your average Joe Sixpack. After 8 years of Bush, I'm now your average Joe 40-oz.

    This seems funny at first, because comparing one 12 oz beer of a sixpack to a 40 oz of malt liquor yields more drinking. But, a sixpack of 12 oz beers is really 72 oz. So now I'm confused. Do you actually drink less beer now than you used to?

    1. Re:Your sig.. by philspear · · Score: 2, Informative

      AC is almost correct, it's an economy joke, not a "I have to drink more to forget" joke. It's more confusing to others than I anticipated. A 6 pack has more alchohol but also costs more. I'll get around to changing it eventually.

  2. Those engines are already here.... by Hasai · · Score: 4, Informative

    ....Just look under the hood of one of DoD's tactical military vehicles. You'll find a turbocharged, multi-fuel Diesel, capable of burning anything from LH to bear grease.

    ....See; DoD ain't so dumb....

    --

    Regards;

    Hasai

  3. Re:Neat by conspirator57 · · Score: 3, Informative

    and algae is the most abundant carbon-based vegetation, not trees and grass.

    --
    "If still these truths be held to be
    Self evident."
    -Edna St. Vincent Millay
  4. Not really that long a shot. by RustinHWright · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you haven't already, anybody who expects to have any clue about this at all should watch the Paul Stamets video of his presentation to the TED conference about fungi. And then buy and read Mycelium Running his overview book on the commercial and process implications of fungi. If you have any understanding of process engineering at all it will blow your mind.

    The fungus in TFA is one of thousands that are only now being discovered and anybody who has done as I suggest above isn't likely to be terribly surprised at this news.

    I know that I seem like I'm exaggerating, but effective exploitation of fungus-based techniques and technology may eventually be looked upon as more important than the development of the microchip. Seriously. And unlike microchips, fungus-based systems are done every day of the year in the basements of homebrewers, many of the /.ers.

    IOW, if you find this stuff interesting, you can probably join the race to develop this stuff by the end of November. Which makes me glad that I live in Portland, home of tons of biotech companies and more beermaking experts then you can shake a bottleopener at.

    Hell. yeah.

    --
    It's all about the information. And what we do with it.
  5. Re:Neat by drwho · · Score: 2, Informative

    Not all rain forests are 'tropical'. Sections of Chile, along with the Pacific Northwest of North America, Japan, New Zealand, and parts of China are 'temperate' rain forests.

  6. Re:Neat by drwho · · Score: 3, Informative

    There is a rainforest in Patagonia. It's a temperate, as opposed to tropical, rainforest. Patagonia is a large area, and diverse, varying from near (ant)arctic to almost warm.