Bacteria found in compost heaps able to convert waste plant fibre into ethanol could eventually provide up 10% of the UK’s transport fuel needs, scientists heard September 9, 2008 at the Society for General Microbiology’s Autumn meeting being held at Trinity College, Dublin.

Researchers from Guildford, UK, have successfully developed a new strain of bacteria that can break down straw and agricultural plant waste, domestic hedge clippings, garden trimmings and cardboard, wood chippings and other municipal rubbish to convert them all into useful renewable fuels for the transport industry.

“The bioethanol produced in our process can be blended with existing gasoline to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions, help tackle global warming, reduce dependence upon foreign oil and help meet national and international targets for renewable energy,” said Paul Milner, Fermentation Development Manager of TMO Renewables Ltd, based in Surrey Research Park, Guildford.

The new strain of bacteria allows ethanol to be produced much more efficiently and cheaply than in traditional yeast-based fermentation, which is based on the beer-brewing process and forms the basis for most current commercial bioethanol production.

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photo credit: Neil Hunt

WHAT if you could make fuel for your car in your backyard for less than you pay at the pump? Would you?

The first question has driven Floyd S. Butterfield for more than two decades. Mr. Butterfield, 52, is something of a legend for people who make their own ethanol. In 1982, he won a California Department of Food and Agriculture contest for best design of an ethanol still, albeit one that he could not market profitably at the time.

Now he thinks that he can, thanks to his partnership with the Silicon Valley entrepreneur Thomas J. Quinn. The two have started the E-Fuel Corporation, which soon will announce its home ethanol system, the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler. It will be about as large as a stackable washer-dryer, sell for $9,995 and ship before year-end.

The net cost to consumers could drop by half after government incentives for alternate fuels, like tax credits, are applied.

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TWO technological trends, both unimaginable a year ago, dominated last week’s motor show in Detroit, the premier showcase for carmakers worldwide. One was the U-turn in the past decade’s headlong pursuit of horsepower and size. The other, less apparent but possibly more significant, was the industry’s wholehearted embrace of biofuels.

While carmakers wait for better batteries, petrol-electric hybrids remain stuck in the slow lane—and risk being overtaken by other technologies. The third iteration of the Toyota Prius, with lithium-ion batteries that can be recharged from a socket at home as well as from the brakes and engine on the road, has been delayed again. Lithium-ion cells pack a far greater punch than today’s nickel-metal-hydride batteries, but they continue to display explosive tendencies.

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