JMS Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 http://www.biomassmagazine.com/articles/10238/engineered-bacteria-produce-biofuel-alternative-for-rocket-fuel Engineered bacteria produce biofuel alternative for rocket fuel By Georgia Institute of Technology | April 04, 2014 <ul id="imageGallery" class="clearFix" "="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; height: 284px; width: 300px;"> By placing colonies of E. coli engineered to produce pinene into test tubes containing glucose, researchers were able to determine which enzyme combinations produced the hydrocarbon most efficiently. Georgia Tech, Rob Felt Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Joint BioEnergy Institute have engineered a bacterium to synthesize pinene, a hydrocarbon produced by trees that could potentially replace high-energy fuels, such as JP-10, in missiles and other aerospace applications. With improvements in process efficiency, the biofuel could supplement limited supplies of petroleum-based JP-10, and might also facilitate development of a new generation of more powerful engines. By inserting enzymes from trees into the bacterium, first author and Georgia Tech graduate student Stephen Sarria, working under the guidance of assistant professor Pamela Peralta-Yahya, boosted pinene production six-fold over earlier bioengineering efforts. Though a more dramatic improvement will be needed before pinene dimers can compete with petroleum-based JP-10, the scientists believe they have identified the major obstacles that must be overcome to reach that goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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