Making Fuel With Newspapers and Bacteria

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 30, 2011 @11:29AM from the finally-a-use-for-newspapers-in-the-internet-age dept.

Debuting on the front page, Lifyre writes "Scientists at Tulane have found a natural bacteria (dubbed TU-103) that produces butanol. While butanol-producing bacteria aren't new, there are a few important points about this particular bacterium. It is the first natural bacteria that converts cellulose directly to butanol without the cellulose needing to be processed into sugar first, and it can do this in the presence of oxygen, which kills other butanol-producing bacteria. The simplification of the process could significantly decrease the production costs of butanol. This bacteria could allow virtually any plant product, such as newspaper or grass clippings, to be used to produce fuel for conventional vehicles."

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wait... by Charliemopps · 2011-08-30 12:10 · Score: 4, Funny

aren't newspapers rarer than oil now?
Re:Huh? by rubycodez · 2011-08-30 14:29 · Score: 4, Funny

more to the point, we'd like to see him stuff rolls of newspapers into his "it's just sugar" face for breakfast, lunch and dinner; and see how much energy he gets.