Could New Fuel Come From Bug Poop?

Internet Broadcasting ^ | 6-17-2008 | Internet Broadcasting

[Westlander]

LS9, Inc., a privately-held industrial biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, specializes in the genetic alteration of bugs -- single-cell organisms, each a fraction of a billionth the size of an ant -- so that when they feed on agricultural waste like woodchips or wheat straw, they excrete crude oil.

[Westlander]

'I have buggers in my tank'.

[kingattax]

imagine the oil production if they genetically altered elephants.

[dayglored]

> 'I have buggers in my tank'.

The topic is bio-petrol, not gay marriage. ;-)

[dayglored]

> "...single-cell organisms, each a fraction of a billionth the size of an ant..."

Fact-free reporting. That's many orders of magnitude too small. Single-cell organisms are visible under a 100x-power microscope for godsake.

A billionth the size of an ant is at the level of individual molecules, not cells.

[taxcontrol]

But why let mere facts get in the way of good hyperbole?

[/sarc]

[Man50D]

It wouldn’t surprise me if the socialist Democrats try to stop their use by demanding the little critters be put on the endangered species list.

[dayglored]

> But why let mere facts get in the way of good hyperbole? [/sarc]

Yeah, *sigh*, I know...

And -small- molecules, too.

Freakin' idiots.

[LeGrande]

Fact-free reporting.

Can I borrow that phrase occasionally? It really succinctly states it doesn't it?

[dayglored]

> It wouldn’t surprise me if the socialist Democrats try to stop their use by demanding the little critters be put on the endangered species list.

Not only that, but now that they're working, the Dems will force them to get goobermint health insurance for everyone in their bug family....

[dayglored]

>> Fact-free reporting.

> Can I borrow that phrase occasionally?

Knock yourself out, no charge.

> It really succinctly states it doesn't it?

Thanks, I liked it. ;-)

[Westlander]

[count-your-change]

This story must be as big as Russert’s demise since it's been posted about as often.
Making a dab of oil isn't the hard part, making it economically and in quantity is and no one has done that yet with algae or microbes. Remember the flap over PetroSun and its plan to produce oil from algae in the Arizona desert, 12 square miles of ponds and a bio refinery nearby?
Algae has oil in it but how to produce enough oil to matter? Oil can be produced from sewage too by using heat and pressure but how to do so profitably is the biggie question.

[redheadtoo]

I heard Rush talking about this on his show. My question is, just how much fuel can these bugs make? Is it practical to go into big time production or is this just the next ethanol, something that uses more energy to produce than it creates?

[dayglored]

That pic is so gay I don't know where to begin...

But I do know I won't say any more about bugs, gay or otherwise...

[dayglored]

It's not about oil.

It's about getting investment capital, piddling around for a few years, and either succeeding (yeaaay!) or getting onto the next Big Thing.

It would be GREAT if this worked out. But so far, it's a lab demo, not a useful production technique.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Self-ping for tomorrow

[dbmurray]

It will never work. The cost to run all those tiny little sewer pipes would be astronomical.

[ME-262]

Evolution's true believers used to claim it took millions of years to make oil from plant and animal matter.

Now it can be done over the weekend.