Bacterium breaks down grass into biofuel
Research reports the discovery of the first microorganism that anaerobically degrades plant biomass, without the need for chemical pre-treatment, to produce raw materials that can be converted to biofuels.
Scientists in the United States demonstrated that Caldicellulosiruptor bescii bacterium was able to degrade insoluble switchgrass biomass at 78 oC. Biomass typically needs to be pretreated with strong acids at high temperatures to break it down into usable raw materials for biofuel conversion, but current industrial pre-treatment processes are inefficient and expensive, and can pollute the environment.
Analysis of the culture after incubation with C. bescii showed that the bacterium had broken down all three components of insoluble biomass – cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, which is notoriously difficult to degrade. No other anaerobic mircroorganism that can degrade lignin is currently known.
Other news from the department science
![[Fe]-hydrogenase catalysis visualized using para-hydrogen-enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy](https://img.chemie.de/Portal/News/675fd46b9b54f_sBuG8s4sS.png?tr=w-712,h-534,cm-extract,x-0,y-16:n-xl)
These products might interest you
Berghof - Reactor Controller by Berghof
High-performance heating system: Precision for small reactors up to 300 ml
Discover auto-tuning, intelligent stirring and air cooling for precise process control
Berghof Reaktortechnologie - Hoch- und Niederdruckreaktoren, Druckbehälter und metallfreie Reaktoren by Berghof
Safe high- and low-pressure systems for aggressive media
Corrosion-resistant reactors with PTFE lining - individually configurable
