Devils Lake Navigator

by Mara MacKinnon – Nov 9th, 2009 in Clean Energy, ARPA-E, Bacteria, Biofuel

Bio-engineering has given science a new toolbox for slowing climate change: By synthetically altering the DNA in bacteria, bio-engineers may be able to convert microscopic organisms into fuel producers.

If the science reaches its full promise, drivers a few years from now could be filling up with carbon-neutral gasoline, fresh off the bacterial production line.

This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way that we power our lives and to dramatically decrease carbon emissions, but it is still in the early stages of development. That could change with a boost from the U.S. Department of Energy, which has sought to spur growth in low-emissions energy technologies through the recently established Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The aim is to invest in high-risk, high-rewards innovations that stand to transform the global energy landscape. Continue reading →

With fossil fuels depleting at a rate much more than predicted, researchers in different parts of the globe are working on means to generate alternative fuel from sources as small as bacteria. A team from researchers from US has genetically modified bacteria to eat carbon dioxide and produce isobutyraldehyde, which can further be used to produce isobutanol.

The modified bacteria are highly efficient in the conversion process and are powered by sunlight. Cyanobacteria and microalgae have been identified to consume CO2 for a long time. However previous researches on using them to produce fuel as an output haven’t been fruitful.

The US research team was successful in genetically modifying bacteria to produce fuel using a process that is around 10 times faster than hydrogen production and about 100 times faster than genetically engineered ethanol production.

Copyright © Instablogs Network 2005. All rights reserved.

Source: http://greenbio.checkbiotech.org/news/eco_tech_sun_powered_bacteria_convert_greenhouse_gases_fuel

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Researchers from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs found detectable levels of microcystin, a toxin produced by several common species of cyanobacteria, in 68 percent of a sample of Indiana lakes and reservoirs.

That’s higher than twice the rate at which microcystin was found in a nationwide survey conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The national survey found microcystins in 32 percent of lakes and reservoirs.

Mats of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) cover Palestine Lake in Kosciusko County, Ind., in this photo from August 2007.

The SPEA team, led by Professor Bill Jones, was contracted by the EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to conduct the sampling of 50 Indiana lakes. Samples were sent to a variety of laboratories around the country for analysis.

The Indiana sampling was conducted in the summer of 2007 as part of the National Lakes Assessment (NLA), a survey of the nation’s lakes undertaken by the EPA. The study sampled more than 1,000 lakes and reservoirs more than 10 acres in size to get an unbiased, statistically relevant snapshot of water quality in lakes and reservoirs in the U.S. The EPA recently released the results. Continue reading →

Algae can be converted into a hydrogen source through the method of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a plants ability to convert solar energy and turn it into something else. A scientist by the name of Barry Bruce, who is a professor at UT Knoxville, has discovered when using photosynthesis with a certain type of algae and a catalyst method with platinum, that hydrogen was produced when that algae was exposed to light.

 Barry Bruce is head of a team of researchers that work on these findings from UT Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They are researching this to create a solution for a natural fuel for the possibility of even using it in vehicles. Continue reading →