In a nigh revolutionary move, a team of U.S researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, has propitiously made use of microbes to produce bio-fuel at a much cheaper rate. The pertinent discovery involves consumption of protein by certain species of microbes and, in the process, biologically transform this protein into fat and other substances, which can then be refined into the resultant bio-fuel.
The researchers point out that this enterprising project is different from the current conventional bio-fuel production programs, as this is the first instance where protein was used as a carbon source for renewable energy production. As one of the researchers, Dr. James C. Liao puts it:
This research is the first attempt to utilize protein as a carbon source for energy production and bio-refining. Complex cellular regulation in nitrogen metabolization had to be rewired. Our strategy effectively recycles nitrogen back into the biofuel production process, thus approaching nitrogen neutrality.
Moreover, this meticulous project will herald the development of a new type of fertilizer that would use less nitrogen, substantially nullifying the adverse effects of greenhouse emissions countered in traditional fertilizer plants.
Via: Xinhuanet
