Genetically modified bacteria increase fuel production and reduce carbon pollution

MIT Technology Review : The creation of biofuels from sugars using bacteria is a well-established process. However, the most efficient bacteria lose up to one third of the carbon in the sugar to the creation of carbon dioxide. Now, UCLA’s James Liao and his colleagues have created a genetically modified bacterium that transforms all the carbon in the sugar into ethanol. Liao’s team combined genes from several different organisms including E. coli, but say that the process could also be performed using yeast or most other simple bacteria. The increased efficiency would reduce the amount of biomaterial needed for fuel production. The catch is that the process requires the presence of extra hydrogen gas and the source of the gas can significantly change either the efficiency or cost of the process. If hydrogen from natural gas is used, the cost is low, but the carbon from the natural gas produces carbon dioxide. If hydrogen is obtained by splitting water molecules using solar power, the cost of that additional process outweighs the cost savings of the modified bacteria.