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Wash U researchers take us one step closer to using biofuel made from e-coli

Engineers at Washington University have found a way to make biofuel from e-coli bacteria.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Engineers at Washington University have found a way to make biofuel from e-coli bacteria.

People in much of the country are familiar with ethanol, a type of biofuel made from corn that is added to gasoline.

But many may not know that it is also possible to make biofuel from bacteria like e-coli. That could change, now that engineers at Washington University have found a more cost-effective way to make fuel from bacteria.

Gayle Bentley, a doctoral student in the Department of Energy, Environment and Chemical Engineering  at Wash U, has discovered how to change an enzyme in some types of bacteria so that it produces compounds that act like the ones in petroleum. Bentley recently published her findings in the journalMetabolic Engineering.

"We're trying to make the same compounds that you would normally find in petroleum," said Bentley, who has been working to produce gasoline from bacteria.

Using biochemistry, Bentley altered bacteria so that it produces more of a fatty acid that can help make a very effective fuel — one that doesn't freeze in cold temperatures.

“If you use traditional biofuels, it’s hard to use them in cold weather, for example, in the winter in St. Louis,” saidFuzhongZhang, an assistant professor in the department. “Whenever the temperature drops below zero degrees, those fuels will turn into a solid so it doesn’t run on your engine.”

The Wash U breakthrough could allow motorists to use fuel that's cleaner and more efficient than fossil fuels. Bacteria-derived fuel also could be put to wider uses than ethanol, which does not work for all engine types.

“With this technology, someone who wants to do large scale production can take our discovery and make their pathway and production and whatever organism they’re doing more efficient,” Bentley said.

 Bentley’s research team recently filed for a patent on the method.

Copyright 2016 St. Louis Public Radio

Eli Chen is the science and environment reporter at St. Louis Public Radio. She comes to St. Louis after covering the eroding Delaware coast, bat-friendly wind turbine technology, mouse love songs and various science stories for Delaware Public Media/WDDE-FM. Before that, she corralled robots and citizen scientists for the World Science Festival in New York City and spent a brief stint booking guests for Science Friday’s live events in 2013. Eli grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, where a mixture of teen angst, a love for Ray Bradbury novels and the growing awareness about climate change propelled her to become the science storyteller she is today. When not working, Eli enjoys a solid bike ride, collects classic disco, watches standup comedy and is often found cuddling other people’s dogs. She has a bachelor’s in environmental sustainability and creative writing at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has a master’s degree in journalism, with a focus on science reporting, from the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.
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