E. coli - Bacteria powered bio-fuel

E. coli  is a common type of bacteria that can get into food, like beef and vegetables. E. coli is short for the medical term Escherichia coli. It is known for upsetting stomachs and even killing people. Recently there have been articles on microbes aiding in battery technology and there are already many researches carried out to use microbes for other useful purposes.

http://www.kanbal.com/index.php?/Electronics/micro-organism-aid-in-battery-technology.html

Now scientists at LS9, a start-up in South San Francisco, are putting the bad bug to good use, genetically engineering it to excrete bio-diesel. The fuel "burns just like diesel," says Greg Pal, the senior director at LS9

In September, LS9 made headlines with the launch of a pilot plant in its hometown that turns out hundreds of gallons of the bio-diesel a week. The plant mixes modified E. coli with sugarcane in large vats of water. The microbes metabolize the sugars and excrete fatty acids that have the same hydrocarbon configuration as petroleum. Unlike other bio-diesel setups, LS9's fuel is easy to collect -- it floats to the top of the water and is skimmed off like cream from milk -- and can go straight into your gas tank.

Making fuel from sugarcane uses fewer resources than corn, and bio-diesel doesn't require the major infrastructure upgrades that ethanol and natural gas call for. A gallon of fuel from sugarcane-fed bacteria could cost $50 a barrel, Pal estimates, compared with the current $200 price tag for a barrel of conventional diesel. And LS9 says it can further drop costs by feeding the bacteria wood chips and other bio-waste. Pal expects a large-scale plant to be up and running by 2011.

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