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Start-Up Genetically Modifies a Better Biofuel Bug
Al writes "A tiny cellulose-eating bacterium found a few years ago in the Chesapeake Bay has been genetically modified to help it break down cellulose and convert the results into the sugars needed to make ethanol. Scientists analyzed the organism's genome in 2003 and found that it possessed a combination of enzymes that simultaneously break down the tough cell walls in dead plants and convert the remaining cellulose into sugars. Recently, Zymetis completed its first successful commercial-scale trial using the bug. The company ran the modified microbe through a series of tests in large fermenters and found that it could convert one ton of cellulosic plant fiber into sugar in 72 hours. The microbe's main advantage is its ability to naturally combine two major steps in the ethanol process, which the company says could considerably slash the high costs of producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass like switchgrass, wood chips, and paper pulp. The piece includes a video of the company's CEO discussing the project."
It wouldn't serve as a primary source of ethanol, at least if sanity has anything to do with the decision making. Instead it would serve as an alternative disposal method for organic waste that rather than costing money to dispose of, it would instead bring in some revenue. Pulp mills in particular generate a fairly large amount of cellulosic waste this would be ideal for.
Algae bio-diesel is a hot topic. You convert sunlight, water and waste-products into bio-diesel, and the biggest problem they've had so far is the algae reproducing too much! The approach of using an organism like algae to produce renewable energy is likely to work and be far cheaper than any tech we would have to manufacture for a long, long time. Algae biochemistry is just far more advanced in terms of its micro-mechanical capability than we are, and it is its own factory; reproducing without abandon.
So what's holding back algae from solving the energy problems of the world?
- One, it's early in development still, although there are two or three notable research plants in the U.S. and England connected to major universities working on it currently.
- Two, the key to making it economical is to raise the ratio of bio-diesel produced to biomass of the algae, basically the efficiency of output compared to the inputs.
Right now they get something like 10-20% efficiency. If they could up that significantly to say 80-90% then it's more economical than even gasoline. Can they do this? They think so:
They've got a concept which involves pumping human waste into the algae water, along with straight carbon-dioxide atmospheres, and pumping in carbon-dioxide black-smoke through the water, smoke harvested from coal-burning plants (making the Greens even happier) which actually scrubs the air clean(er) as a result. With that they think they can get the efficiency up there. So it actually helps us deal with other environmental problems on the side.
Now, where the actual tech comes in will be breeding new strains and adding and subtracting genes. Right now they've mainly bred strains the old fashioned way, without any genetic splicing. Once the splicing does occur, and the world's library of genetic techniques and effects can be brought to bear we may have something, perhaps an oil replacement, a true oil replacement. They'll begin dropping in genes, and playing with the best traits of various strains to create a super-algae. And then, it'll be "bye-bye oil."
But, I'll throw this final monkey wrench in the whole thing: say we did create a breakthrough tech that resulted in oil losing its price advantage, so much that within 5-10 years all gasoline refining could stop and the world could survive on bio-diesel and ethanol, all at cheaper prices than oil allowed - what do you think that would do to the Middle-east?
I think the Arab countries which rely on oil money for basically everything would realize the jig is up, their income is gonna dry up fast, and many of those countries would go completely ape-shit. They'd probably attack Israel, us too perhaps, before their wealth and power began to fade. Without oil money that region is just the armpit of the world, many regions could be called 4th world countries ;P And without oil money their influence would soon wane, and the ability of radical elements to commit global acts of terror would wane just as quickly.
So, let's indeed replace oil ASAP with something like algae-produced bio-diesel, or any similar tech that gets us off oil at a cheaper price than oil, and that will not only keep a lot more wealth in the US, it is ultimately the only way to end global terrorism as a major problem and concern in the world.
"I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist"
The idea isn't to grow crops for direct fermentation - but to convert plant (cellulose) waste that isn't used for other purposes. (Like animal feed.)
From the article, it sounds like this process would also work on yard waste. In places like Portland, OR, a house with a moderate sized yard could easily produce 30-50 Lbs of grass clippings per week during the 9 month growing season. That would likely be enough to keep a conversion facility busy, especially when combined with waste output from the Camas paper plant.
This looks to be a promising way of disposing of waste material. Even if the efficiency isn't as great as bio-diesel, as long as it produces a net gain it's a good avenue of research.
My God! It's full of eval()'s.
"At least this way you get rid of a lot of solid waste..."
Yes, but should this be a worry? "Zymetis has genetically modified a rare, cellulose-eating bacterium to break down and convert cellulose into sugars necessary to make ethanol..."
And: ""It has the ability to break down whole plant material, and it excretes enzymes that break down cellulose,..."
And: "Hutcheson and his colleagues switched on certain genes to increase the activity of these enzymes, and turned off other genes that controlled inhibitory behaviors of the microbe, such as those that tell it to stop feeding."
When the bacteria gets loose, will it attack plants everywhere? During evolution, plants selected cellulose because it is structurally strong and can't be destroyed by bacteria.
Technology Review seems to me to be an advertising, public relations site. It doesn't seem to explore the obvious issues.
The discrepancy between how accurate your account on algae is and how ill-considered your analysis of Arabs is, is truly amazing.
Why would you assume that just because the Arab nations are going to run out of money they are going to blatheringly insane? Would you assume that if the U.S. were running out of money we'd go ape-shit? No, you wouldn't. So your assumption shows a racist bias that is both unfounded and disgusting.
For your information, most Arab countries are investing their oil money into both business and infrastructure. They are looking for ways to create a solid, long-lasting presence in business and finance. To think that the wealth will dry up just goes to show that you don't understand the scale of the money being generated. The wealth of countries like Saudi Arabia are far, far beyond critical mass, and will keep growing with or without oil. Saudi Arabia has more than 7 trillion dollars invested in U.S. companies, and they aren't just investing the America. The Saudi surplus is about as large as our deficit, and they only have 1/10th the number of people. As you can imagine, that is enough to do a lot of impressive things. These task are what these Arab nations are going to be focusing on, not lashing out like cornered animals.
Take your paranoid xenophobia and desire to bankrupt entire cultures to some other forum. We don't want you here. For the record, equating Arab nations to terrorists is equivalent to equating the U.S. to the KKK. How stupid would this sentiment sound: Well, the American economy tanking is ultimately the only way to end global racism (the KKK) as a major problem and concern in the world. It would sound pretty damn stupid wouldn't it? Well Mr. Anenome, that is exactly how silly you sound to people who don't view the world through spectacles of discrimination.
Well, I think you're just being over-emotional about the issue because you're emotionally invested. I am not emotionally invested, nor am I a racist.
I am however a futurist, and like to look at likely scenarios of the future. All I've said is that if the oil tap looks like it's going to run dry that this will destabilize the middle-east further. When the middle-east gets destabilized, generally a few things happen: 1) someone tries to attack Israel. 2) Terrorism increases globally. If you'd like to refute either of those points using history, I'd love to laugh at the attempt.
Iran, for instance, sells a lot of oil right now, it finances their country in large measure. Things are fine for Iran economically, in general, yet they still talk, weekly, about nuking Israel. And you're trying to tell us that that behavior wouldn't get worse if it looked like Iran couldn't afford to spend so much on their military anymore? You are probably as economically illiterate as so many are, I suppose I cannot hold it against you. It's a modern tragedy.
As for these countries having tons of money, you're way, way off. Saudi Arabia is nearly bankrupt. They have borrowed a fuck-ton of money, last time I checked, and I don't think that's changed since then, I can't imagine how it could have. If you want to say that the various royal families have gigantic gobs of money, sure, you got me there. That doesn't mean much, however, it's all in private hands. An economy needs a middle-class. What's your plan to convince the Saudi Royal family, and others like them around the world, virtual despots, to share the wealth? Kuwait is so oil-dependent that as of '91 they were paying a gigantic yearly salary of $80,000 to each resident of the country, many other countries do similar, Venenzuela was trying to set something up like that too (foolishly) until the price of oil floored again. You think Kuwait wouldn't be economically devastated by oil being replaced? You're fooling yourself.
If the oil-tap gets turned off that would result in, literally, trillions of dollars per year no longer flowing into the middle-east. Do you really mean to say that that wouldn't have an effect on the middle-eastern economy? You're fooling yourself. The middle-eastern economy is currently dependent on that cash-flow and does not have the economic infrastructure in place to makeup a shortfall that could drop to zero within 5-10 years - which is exactly what Algae biodiesel could achieve. If WWIII broke out, and oil reserves were cut-off, that could result in a massive switch to biodiesel even faster on our part. When the switchover happens, at the least, the middle-east would experience a depression as long as 15-30 years in duration while it built up other avenues of economic production, and that assumes they don't go to war in that time period.
I have no desire to see this happen, I wish the people of the middle-east well, by and large they are a decent people with extremists messing it up for everyone, just like everywhere else. But we also have to deal with the reality of the situation. You're anger just shows you're not prepared to look at things with that level of detachment.
"I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist"
As others have posted, this bug is too inefficient to compete in the wild. It takes so much energy to eat its food (cellulose) that other bacteria would quickly swamp it. Imagine a dog bred to jump instead of walk. All that extra energy would require more hunting to get more food, and the existing wild dogs would quickly knock it out of competition.
Infuriate left and right