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A Fragrant New Biofuel

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2012Environmentadvanced biofuel, agricultural waste, alkene hydrocarbon, bacteria, berkeley lab, biofuels, biofuels industry, cellulosic biomass, chemical compound, degree of unsaturation, diesel, e coli, edward baidoo, ee been goh, escherichia coli, fatty acid, flavor, fragrance, fuel molecule, fuel properties, gasoline, genetic modification, glucose, harry beller, jay keasling, jbei, jet fuel, lynn yarris, methyl ketone, microbial production, octane, perennial grasses, plant cell, renewable fuel, synthesis, tridecanone, undecanone

*JBEI Researchers Develop a New Candidate for a Cleaner, Greener and Renewable Diesel Fuel*

A class of chemical compounds best known today for fragrance and flavor may one day provide the clean, green and renewable fuel with which truck and auto drivers fill their tanks. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have engineered Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria to generate significant quantities of methyl ketone compounds from glucose. In subsequent tests, these methyl ketones yielded high cetane numbers – a diesel fuel rating comparable to the octane number for gasoline – making them strong candidates for the production of advanced biofuels.

“Our findings add to the list of naturally occurring chemical compounds that could serve as biofuels, which means more flexibility and options for the biofuels industry,” says Harry Beller, a JBEI microbiologist who led this study. “We’re especially encouraged by our finding that it is possible to increase the methyl ketone titer production of E. coli more than 4,000-fold with a relatively small number of genetic modifications.” (more…)

Solar Cells more Efficient than Photosynthesis – for Now

EAST LANSING, Mich. — In a head-to-head battle of harvesting the sun’s energy, solar cells beat plants, according to a new paper in Science. But scientists think they can even up the playing field, says Michigan State University researcher David Kramer.

Plants are less efficient at capturing the energy in sunlight than solar cells mostly because they have too much evolutionary baggage. Plants have to power a living thing, whereas solar cells only have to send electricity down a wire. This is a big difference because if photosynthesis makes a mistake, it makes toxic byproducts that kill the organism. Photosynthesis has to be conservative to avoid killing the organisms it powers. (more…)

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A Fragrant New Biofuel

Solar Cells more Efficient than Photosynthesis – for Now