By: Franyi Sarmiento, Ph.D., Inspenet, July 11, 2022
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California have discovered that a common bacterium can be used to produce energy-dense fuel. This interesting alternative, in addition to others such as SAF and e-diesel, could one day become a reality.
The Berkeley researchers believe that the biofuel they are developing will have an energy density of 50 megajoules per liter, that is, a value much higher than that of normal gasoline, which has 32 megajoules per liter, even higher than the fuel used in the space rocket propellant engines, the RP-1, 35 megajoules per liter.
In addition, they ensure that it will be much less polluting than conventional hydrocarbons. “This biosynthetic pathway provides a clean route to highly energy-dense fuels that, prior to this study, could only be produced from petroleum using a highly toxic process,” says study leader Jay Keasling.
Because these fuels would be produced from bacteria fed on plant matter, which is made from carbon dioxide drawn from the atmosphere, using them will significantly reduce the amount of added greenhouse gases relative to any fuel generated from petroleum, the researchers explain. researchers.
The process of creating this biofuel is very different. It is based on the antifungal bacteria called Streptomyces, which are commonly used to create antibiotics. As the researchers explain, molecules that work like Josamycin were synthesized. These molecules can convert sugars or amino acids into molecules made of cyclopropane rings called POP-FAMEs.
Now, the researchers are in the process of further increasing the production efficiency of the bacteria to generate enough for combustion tests. They are also investigating how they could modify the production pathways of multiple enzymes to create polycyclopropanate molecules of different lengths.
Although they have not yet produced enough candidate molecules for a combustion test, 10 kg of fuel is needed for this, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory analyzed the POP-FAMEs with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and demonstrated the validity of the energy density values that the researchers believed.
Once the field tests have been carried out, the researchers will have to overcome another challenge: to develop a large-scale production method for this new type of fuel that is economically viable.
This material from the Xataka portal was edited for clarity, style and length.
Source : https://www.xataka.com/energia/combustible-a-base-bacterias-idea-unos-cientificos-para-tener-aviones-barcos-sostenibles – https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2022/ 06/30/bacteria-for-blastoff/
Photo : Pablo Cruz-Morales
Loading...
