Long-abandoned bacterial fermentation process converts sugar directly to diesel

Phys.org ^ | 11-07-2012 | Provided by University of California - Berkeley

[Red Badger]

UC Berkeley graduate student Zachary Baer works with a fermentation chamber to separate acetone and butanol (top clear layer) from the Clostridium brew at the bottom. The chemicals can be extracted and catalytically altered to make a fuel that burns like diesel. Credit: Robert Sanders

Rest In Peace, old friend, your work is finished.....

[Red Badger]

If you want ON or OFF the DIESEL ”KnOcK” LIST jut FReepmail me..... This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days.....

[cicero2k]

As usual, the breakthrough will be access to cheap feed stocks, not process. Even the process such as cellulose to sugar, is not ready.

The algae to fuel process failed when they determined that the algae feedstock needs fertilizer (natural gas) and phosphate which is mined. These inputs exceeded value of output.

Keep frackin while you still can.

[Carry_Okie]

While the fuel's cost is still higher than diesel or gasoline made from fossil fuels, the scientists said the process would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, one of the major contributors to global climate change.

Who cares about climate change? What about topsoil and water?

I'll bet these diots call themselves "environmentally conscious."

[RinaseaofDs]

And again, it’s another ‘food to fuel’ conversion scheme. This process needs so much help you are better off sticking with regular diesel.

Oh, the other thing you need a bunch of is water to make this work. Water stress, of course, isn’t already a bigger problem than access to fuel already is.

I’ll be impressed when they can make either electrical or chemical energy without water, in scale.

[married21]

Mayor Bloomberg says this conversion of sugar to energy is permissible, so long as it pumped into the vehicle in under-16 ounce servings.

[RBStealth]

All your corn and wheat are all belongs to us.

[bgill]

You thought it was bad when they used corn for diesel. Just wait until they go after our Crispy Cremes.

[newheart]

the process would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Not to worry. If this works as advertised the greenies will kill it. Their goal isn't clean and abundant energy, it is death to capitalism. Period.

[chrisser]

Weird. I was just reading about butyl alcohol today.

I’m not a chemist and the article is short on specifics. Am I reading it right that the glyceryl tributyrate (tributyrin) is simply mixed with the fermentation results and then separates out the butanol and acetone from the mixture, leaving the ethanol behind with the bacteria and water?

It sounds like the catalyst part comes aftewards when they try to turn the butanol/acetone into diesel equivalent.

Wouldn’t the butanol by itself be useful as a gasoline replacement?

My (limited) understanding of the ABE process was that it was impractical because the butanol poised the bacteria befor they could generate high amounts of butanol, and then the resulting slurry was mostly water that had to be distilled out (with large energy inputs). It sounds like this tributyrin stuff could make ABE more useful for butanol production.

[knife6375]

That will really suck.

[GingisK]

diesel or gasoline made from fossil fuels, the scientists said the process would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Just how do sugar derived hydrocarbons burn cleaner than petroleum derived hydrocarbons? Magic carbon?

[American in Israel]

How much does sugar cost a pound and how much does diesel cost a pound add to the sugar the cost per pound to turn it into diesel.

Bzzzzzzzzt. You may have passed Chemistry, but you got an F in math.

But if you got a A in Poly-Sci and have an inlaw that is Nancy Pelosi, why son, your a Billionaire!

[elkfersupper]

This nonsense of converting food to fuel has to stop.

[uncommonsense]

"These inputs exceeded value of output."

That's what was missing from this article. What's the energy of the entire process - from planting and harvesting, delivery, conversion, waste disposal, and end product delivery?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

And the biomass comes from farming the rain forests, but it's OK because we are doing it in the name of the environment.

[Red Badger]

The ... process employs ...bacterium ...to ferment sugars into acetone, butanol and ethanol. Blanch and Clark developed a way of extracting the acetone and butanol from the fermentation mixture while leaving most of the ethanol behind...Toste developed a catalyst that converted this ideally-proportioned brew into a mix of long-chain hydrocarbons that resembles the combination of hydrocarbons in diesel fuel.

They discovered that ...glyceryl tributyrate...could extract the acetone and butanol from the fermentation broth while not extracting much ethanol. Tributyrin is not toxic to the bacterium and...doesn't mix....

-------------------------------------------------------------- Wouldn’t the butanol by itself be useful as a gasoline replacement?

Yes.

[mosesdapoet]

Hummmm..Verry Intresting ...Thanks for the posting

[Blood of Tyrants]

Another foolish green fuel project to turn food into fuel. We already have a process of coal gasification that will turn coal into diesel.

[slowhandluke]

Well, maybe we could suggest raising the C02 levels to 1000ppm or higher to greatly increase the production of biomass?

Would that not cause a few strokes among the greenies?