Biofuel

By Grace Olson, Lucca Psaila, and Noah Gersh

Is BioFuel Difficult to Produce?

Not at ethanol!
Pause for Laughter

Two methods:
Ethanol fermentation
Cellulolysis

So whats the issue?

US currently uses corn for biofuel

Also used for food

More biofuel = less food

We need a new organism to create biofuel so that we can produce ethanol

and feed people in both our country and others

Whats the solution?

Studies have shown that genetic engineering of E.Coli bacteria can be used to
effectively produce ethanol.

Pros:

It may be possible to engineer other microorganisms to produce ethanol as well.

Not required as food

Effective production

Cons:

High cost and upkeep

More research required
Microorganisms may not be enough

The Details
Genes used encode for enzymes in Z.Mobilis
Inserted in E.Coli and tested
Successfully converted Alcohol Dehydrogenase and Pyruvate Decarboxylase
into ethanol.

Whats the next step?

1. Evaluate other microorganisms
2. Experiment on large scale production
3. Find more suitable resources to use as factories

Sources:
Our large and powerful cerebral organs
Our wonderful teacher and peers who constantly feed us wonderful information
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC204123/pdf/aem00127-0160.pdf
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