New Method for Biodiesel Production Using Plant Biomass

Ever increasing energy costs and global warming concerns have almost pushed the world to the brink! The imperative now is to find a renewable and sustainable fuel. Scientific studies have consistently shown that the best solution for this that is available at this point would be biodiesel derived from plant biomass.

Biomass (Image credit: SM McCoy &Co.)

However there’s a catch. We still need to find a cost-effective method for commercial production of biodiesel.

The problem?

Fatty acids in plants and animal oils serve as the source for biodiesel fuel and a variety of other chemical products including surfactants, solvents and lubricants.

But… the increased demand and limited supply of these oils has resulted in competition with food (as we saw with the hike in food prices in 2008), questionable land-use practices and environmental concerns associated with their production.

So…

Researchers have developed an alternative and a more cost-effective method to produce biodiesel directly from biomass: through a specially developed microbe!

This research has been conducted by U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI)

And the microbe is?

Escherichia coli (E. coli). Yes it’s that bacterium that most of you have undoubtedly heard of in your elementary science classes.

But it’s not just any E. coli. This is a specially engineered strain of E. coli. These bacteria have a natural ability to synthesize fatty acids and they also show exceptional responsiveness to genetic manipulation. This makes them ideal candidates for a task such as this.

So what have the researchers done to the E. coli?

They have engineered the bacteria to a point where the natural regulation that limits the production of fatty acids by these bacteria is interrupted so they can produce an abundance of fatty acids from plant biomass. The new strain of E. coli can also produce hemicellulase – an enzyme that breaks down hemicellulose, the complex sugar that is a major constituent of plant biomass.

Electron micrograph shows rod-shaped E. coli secreting oil droplets containing biodiesel fuel, along with fatty acids and alcohol. (Image by Jonathan Remis, JBEI)