{"id":3319,"date":"2008-08-16T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2008-08-16T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=3319"},"modified":"2008-08-16T06:00:37","modified_gmt":"2008-08-16T12:00:37","slug":"in-praise-of-poop-2-e-coli-waste-as-a-new-form-of-biofuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/in-praise-of-poop-2-e-coli-waste-as-a-new-form-of-biofuel\/","title":{"rendered":"In Praise of Poop 2: E. coli Waste as a New Form of Biofuel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that we have picked apart the many hidden wonders of cow manure<\/a>, we may safely examine yet another, more recent entry in the annals of excellent excrement: E. coli.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, E. coli may actually be useful for something other than infecting spinach or beef, giving you a serious case of diarrhea, and initiating massive recalls of different food products. The waste of these reputedly nasty little bacteria can, in fact, be used as a source for biofuel. No\u2026er, joke.<\/p>\n

As CNN reported recently, a biotech lab in San Francisco, LS9 Inc., is using a harmless form of E. coli to make biodiesel.<\/a> The genetically altered bacteria get fed various forms of sugars, anything from sugar cane to wood chips or other plant waste, and after munching their little mitochondria out (they do not have hearts, after all), they poop the equivalent of diesel fuel.1 Now that is some exciting excrement!<\/p>\n

Even more exciting than the diesel poop, the company claims that the same bacteria can be used to produce gasoline or even jet fuel. Yes, sometime in the future you may be flying those friendly skies or putt-putting along in your car thanks to the hard working, hard pooping E. coli from LS9. You have to wonder what the exhaust will smell like\u2026.<\/p>\n

One obvious problem is that, like the teeny tiny little E. coli poop factories themselves, this form of biofuel has trouble remaining viable on larger scales. So do not plan to pull up to the pump and squeeze some of this stuff into your tank anytime soon.<\/p>\n

However, as LS9\u2019s president Bob Walsh points out, their product can be used within the existing oil\/gas infrastructure (unlike ethanol) along with having other benefits, so the company plans to have large-scale commercial production going in three to four years. And with fossil fuels still on a polluting rampage worldwide, any<\/em> form of alternative energy can contribute to reducing humanity\u2019s impact on the biosphere.<\/p>\n

A larger worry, at least for me and surely many others, is the fact that the bacteria are genetically altered<\/em>. Thus they use the term \u201cprogrammed\u201d for the process of redesigning the bacteria for different forms of waste\/fuel. A rather scary, if fitting, choice of words with all the genetic altering and Frankensteining going on.<\/p>\n

Still, with this new, wonderful use of E. coli poop, you may rightly be all set to start your own E. coli poop production line. Alas, this stuff is not as easy to harvest as cow manure and other more traditional marvelous manures. And do not, I repeat do not<\/em>, go out stocking up on recalled spinach or beef in order to make your own body an E. coli factory! Best leave this stuff to the experts.<\/p>\n

But what you can do, safely and in the spirit of fun environmental advocacy, is to get the CNN headline t-shirt heralding the surprising power of E. coli poop!<\/a> You may turn some heads and get some strange looks, but hey, who would not be interested in hearing about biofuel from bacterial excrement?<\/p>\n

In a time when we need to do all we can to find sustainable alternatives to our many dangerous, damaging human activities, wear your t-shirt proudly and spread the word about these tremendous little turds.<\/p>\n

Notes
\nImage credit: Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/em>
\n1. Walton, Marsha. “Lab makes renewable diesel fuel from E. coli poop.” CNN.com<\/em>. 13 August 2008. Cable News Network-Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 15 August 2008 <http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2008\/TECH\/science\/08\/12\/bug.diesel\/index.html<\/a>>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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