Designer biofuels
Wednesday, 15 October 2008 | 52 readers so far
If bacteria can poop the fuel we need how come I’m not hearing more about it? I had to hear about biofuels company LS9 from a nerdly co-worker. You would think people would be excited.
LS9 DesignerBiofuels™ products are a family of fuels produced by specially-engineered microbes created via industrial synthetic biology. Starting from raw, natural sources of sugar such as sugar cane and cellulosic biomass, these renewable fuels will fundamentally change the biofuels landscape and set the stage for widespread product adoption and petroleum displacement. LS9 hydrocarbon biofuels have higher energetic content than ethanol or butanol and have fuel properties that are essentially indistinguishable from those of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
LS9’s technology provides a means to genetically control the structure and function of its fuels, enabling a product portfolio that meets the diverse demands of the petroleum economy. LS9 DesignerBiofuels™ products overcome a number of key challenges associated with first-generation biofuels, including infrastructure compatibility, product diversity, product economics, and quality consistency. LS9 products can go directly into vehicles or be further processed at a refinery. The products are designed to be cost-competitive with traditional petroleum products - without subsidies - and be commercially available within a few years.
Based on a highly efficient production method, LS9 products offer increased environmental benefits over production and refinement of crude oil and ethanol. LS9 DesignerBiofuels™ products approach carbon neutrality, with an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide consumed by the plant-based feedstocks as are generated from combustion of the fuels. In addition, LS9 products contain no carcinogens like benzene (commonly found in petroleum) and only trace amounts of sulfur.
Think of it - an unlimited supply of petroleum. We’ve got artificial diamonds better than the real thing. Fossil fuels certainly sound doable and cost effective in the short term. While I’m waiting for designer biofuels to catch on I’ve broken down and purchased a four cylinder fuel saver, the 2009 Mazda 6. I’ll review the car and it’s features at some point in the future when it’s fully broken in.
1 October 15th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Gringo_Malo says:
In my youth, I too was prone to accept such miraculous claims uncritically. If Mr. Walsh of LS9 could indeed produce a green drop-in replacement for gasoline at a cost less than or equal to that of gasoline, right now, he would become incredibly wealthy and have women standing in line to offer him their favors. Looking around LS9’s web site, one can’t help but notice that there’s no ordering or pricing information. So the obvious question for Mr. Walsh is, “Dude, if you can really do what you say can, why the #$%& ain’t you doin’ it?”
I suspect that Mr. Walsh hasn’t gotten around to engineering the bacteria yet, but requires only a trillion dollar grant from DOE and another twenty years of research. Perhaps he has engineered the bacteria, which unfortunately turn everyone who comes into contact with them into a zombie. Perhaps he is producing green gasoline, but it costs fifty times as much as gasoline derived from petroleum. Perhaps his production process consumes more energy than his green gasoline produces.
I’ll get excited about the stuff when I can roll into Abdul’s Mini-Mart and buy it.
2 October 16th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Trevor says:
That’s sort of what I was wondering - either there is no product, or there is a major caveat. But it’s a good idea.
3 October 16th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Gringo_Malo says:
Excellent idea if it can be made to work. Actually, there already is a green fuel, methanol, that can be made by simple pyrolysis of cellulose in wood, paper, leaves, dried lawn clippings, or the manure of grazing animals. The other product is charcoal, which can also be used as a fuel. You don’t need a lot of high-powered Ph.D.s to make charcoal and methanol. Anybody can do it.
Why don’t we? Probably because it’s easier to buy gasoline from Abdul, and it might even be cheaper. Of course, this could change. I remember a news report during the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo about a farmer who was running his truck on cow dung. There were no details, but I assume that he was either burning methanol, or carbon monoxide made from the charcoal in a gasogen, or a combination of the two.
4 November 4th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Gringo_Malo says:
You might be interested in the following article, Trevor:
Fungi Discovered in Patagonia Rainforest Could Be Used to Make Biodiesel
5 November 8th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Trevor says:
@Gringo_Malo:
I’m going to have to check out both your suggestions and the article.