A few days back I stumbled across this lecture on BBC, basically about science and technology, towards the end, the guy mentioned a little about genetic engineering of petrol/oil through bacterial DNA manipulation, apparently its supposed to counter the effects of global warming by using the carbon from the CO2 in the air. I cant find any reading material online about it, post me a link please?
Fuel From Bacteria
- Thread starter Sleepless
- Start date
I doubt that you have completely understood. No amount of "DNA manipulation" of bugs will cause the cpombustion of fossile fuels to release less CO2. This is because the energy in the fossil fuels is released by their oxidation. How much CO2 relative to H2O is produced by oxidation that releases the same amount of energy does vary with the relative number of H and C atoms in the fuel.
Yesterday on BBC, by good luck, I happened to hear Creig Ventner (Spelling probably wrong) of DNA fame speak (an invited lecture). He believes that the only way to solve the global warming problem is to develope new life forms that take energy from sunlight and CO2 from the air (or get Carbon from coal etc) and then as part of their biology, make things man needs (monomers for plastics, fuels, fibers etc.) Sort of like getting sugar from sugar cane but simple organisms designed to make most of what man needs.
He wants to build these new life form bugs from "scratch" rather than modify existing organisms. If it were anyone else suggesting this, I would be laughing at him as I tend to think natural organisms can have their evolution actively changed by man now much more economically.
Or maybe Botryococcus braunii.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botryococcus_braunii
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel_applications_of_botryococcene
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botryococcus_braunii
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel_applications_of_botryococcene
Coskata claims it can make alcohol for $1/gallon from any organic waste via distructive distillation to syngas, which is bubbled thru water containing their bacteria which "shit" ethanol!* SEE: http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2008/01/ethanol23
This might be true and has some backing from GM, they claim.
Perhaps someone will search and add more about it and them?
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*As strong alcohol is known to kill bacteria, the alcohol water must have low alcohol concentration, presumably as is continuously removed. That would take out the syngas also. Cooling vapors recovered from the active tanks would separate the alcohol, but sounds to me like that recovery will be costly.
This might be true and has some backing from GM, they claim.
Perhaps someone will search and add more about it and them?
-------------------
*As strong alcohol is known to kill bacteria, the alcohol water must have low alcohol concentration, presumably as is continuously removed. That would take out the syngas also. Cooling vapors recovered from the active tanks would separate the alcohol, but sounds to me like that recovery will be costly.