Microbial Biofuels Development

San Francisco tech start-up. LS9, announced that they have genetically modified the E.Coli bacteria so that it consumes and metabolizes a mixture of sugarcan and water and excretes fatty acids with the same hydrocarbon configuration as bio diesel fuel. It is created in a fermentation vat and accumulates on the surface as an easy to extract liquid. The fuel can run through existing pipelines and engine fuel systems. The new fuel does produce the same amount of greenhouse gasses when burned in an internal combustion engine, but the company says that it should ultimately have a smaller impact as they do not have to drill for the raw material feedstocks. They estimate that fuel from sugarcane fed bacteria might cost about $50 per barrel and that costs might be further reduced by adding wood chips and bio waste to the fermenting vats. A large scale plant is expected to be up and running by 2011. Read more about this development in the November 2008 issue of Popular Scence or at http://cleantechnica.com/2008/06/11/ls9s-designer-biofuel-renewable-petroleum/