By genetically engineered a strain of Escherichia coli, the scientists tricked the bacteria into converting sugar into a fuel that is similar in composition to regular diesel fuel.
If such a process is put on stream, then such a synthetic fuel can become a good alternative to organic fuel. The study, published in the journal PNAS, was led by synthetic biologist John Love of the University of Exeter.
“We want to make sure that car manufacturers, fuel sellers and drivers don't even notice the difference between regular gasoline and our new invention,” says Love. According to the plans of the European Union, by 2050 greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 80%.
As a consequence, by 2020 at least 10% of the total fuel used will have to be biofuels. However, to date, most biodiesel and bioethanol are incompatible with modern engines.
For the engine to function properly, you need a “cocktail” of 5-10% biofuel and 90-95% gasoline. Love's team has created a genetically modified E. coli that, unlike other synthetic counterparts, produces biofuels that can be poured into a gas tank without mixing with any other type of fuel. The advantage of this approach to the creation of biofuels is that fuel suppliers will not need to change the existing infrastructure (delivery and distribution).
Typically, E. coli takes up sugar and produces fats to form the cell membrane. Scientists have created a special strain of E. coli in order to produce synthetic fuel molecules instead of fats, according to a press release.
The technologies of synthetic medicine were used. True, despite its obvious advantage over competitors, the new strain may not have much success with fuel substitute makers. The efficiency of the new production is still extremely low: a hundred liters of a solution of bacteria and sugar is capable of producing only one teaspoon of new biofuel.
“Before we move to industrial production, we will need to increase the efficiency of bacteria. We have three to five years left to experiment and see if the game is worth the candle,”says Love.
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His team is also trying to understand whether E.coli can consume animal or human waste instead of sugar for efficient production. The project was funded by Shell and the British Biology and Biotechnology Research Council (BBSRC), a major gasoline and engine oil producer. We add that biofuels are considered safe for the environment, since they produce just enough carbon dioxide that plants can recycle.
But there are also alternative opinions: environmental researcher Rob Bailey believes that biofuels are even more damaging to the Earth's climate than fossil fuels, which include gasoline (more in this PDF document).
Biofuel production cannot be considered a panacea for modern economics, politics and the environment. It should be borne in mind that bacteria, such as E. coli, are also a natural material and, accordingly, may be in short supply.
Researchers still have to solve a lot of questions related to the production of fuel from Escherichia coli before discussing practical trials and further commercialization of the project.