In recent years, scientists around the world have been trying to find ways to develop a cheap way to produce low-carbon fuels that could potentially replace refined products. And, it is quite possible that in this case, as often happens, nature itself will come to the aid of man. Indeed, according to the publication Nature Communications, a group of researchers from the University of York, together with their colleagues, found a protein in the intestines of marine invertebrates that can convert wood into low-carbon biofuel.
According to scientific work, animals of Limnoriidae can become a source of salvation of the planet. Limnoriidae is a crustacean family of about 55 species with body lengths ranging from 1 to 10 millimeters. The fact is that these crustaceans have adapted to eat wood and its waste, falling from rivers to the seas and oceans. These animals are, in a way, "sea termites", because they can eat wooden ships, and even those that are covered with special substances that prevent harmful effects. According to study lead author Simon McQueen-Mason,
During the study of marine life, scientists found that first Limnoriidae "split" the tree into many small fragments in the upper gastrointestinal tract, and already in the lower intestines there are hemocyanin proteins (GH7), thanks to which crustaceans can extract sugar from the tree for nutrition.
Moreover, further research has shown that when processing wood with hemocyanins, as a result, almost 2 times more low-molecular-weight sugars are produced than when using "traditional" thermochemical methods of wood processing. Further, the obtained compounds can already be used for the production of biofuel.
Vladimir Kuznetsov
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