Posted on 10/24/2025 8:21:03 PM PDT by Red Badger
VIDEOS AT LINK..................
Researchers in Canada have discovered a previously unknown bacteria capable of converting food waste into renewable natural gas which opens new opportunities for carbon-neutral fuel production.
The find was made by a team of researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC), who discovered a methane-producing bacterium at one of the country’s biggest organic waste sites, the Surrey Biofuel Facility.
Ryan Ziels, PhD, an associate professor in the university’s department of civil engineering and lead author of the study, revealed the team was investigating microbial energy production when they noticed something unexpected.
The microbes that typically consume acetic acid had disappeared, yet methane production kept flowing. “Traditional methods couldn’t identify the organisms doing the heavy lifting,” Ziels explained.
Turning waste Into energy The Surrey Biofuel Facility processes approximately 115,000 tons of food waste each year. It uses an anaerobic digestion system, where billions of microbes work together in oxygen-free conditions to break down organic material.
The waste is first reduced to simple compounds such as amino acids and sugars. It is then converted into acetic acid, a key methane precursor. Certain microbes consume the acetic acid and produce methane, which is refined into renewable natural gas (RNG).
For the study, the researchers used a technique called protein-SIP (stable isotope probing), to identify the culprit. It involves feeding the microbes carbon-labeled nutrients. Since microbes use carbon to build proteins, this allowed the team to track which organisms were actively involved in methane production.
“Converting waste to methane is a cooperative process involving multiple interacting microbes,” Steven Hallam, PhD, a professor at the university’s department of microbiology and immunology and co-author of the study, said. “This newly identified bacterium is one of the key players making it happen.”
New biofuel potential
The newly found bacterium belongs to the Natronincolaceae family. Not only is it capable of producing methane, but it also thrives in high-ammonia environments, where most methane-producing organisms fail.
“Municipal facilities owe a lot to these organisms,” Ziels explained. “If acetic acid builds up, tanks have to be dumped and restarted – an expensive, messy process.”
The discovery explains why digesters such as Surrey’s, continue producing energy under challenging conditions. It suggests that high-ammonia environments may actually benefit these key microbes, offering insights for more efficient designs.
The team now plans to use the same technique to study microbial communities breaking down microplastics in the ocean. Ziels believes some of nature’s tiniest organisms could play a massive role in solving major environmental challenges, especially as cities worldwide face mounting pressure around waste and clean energy.
“Next time you toss your scraps in the compost bin, remember: you’re not just composting,” Ziels stated. “You’re feeding microscopic powerhouses that help produce cleaner energy.”
The research was conducted by Fortis BC, Convertus, and US federal labs, with support from the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute. “At our Surrey facility, we strive to maintain a stable microbial community in order to achieve the benefits of RNG as a clean biofuel,” Felizia Crozier, Convertus process support engineer concluded in a press release.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Microbiology.
I just wanted to post on a thread where I knew there would be no jokes made.
Although it does remind me of a buddy in high school.
I think they have re-invented pigs...............
Gases have been being extracted from garbage landfills for over 20 years now.
When science fiction becomes science fact ....
Who runs Bartertown?
Mongo only pawn in game of life.
This is not a joke.... :-)
A sewage treatment plant I frequently drive past has a tall flare stack. Be nice if they could use the gas for something productive.
Growing up near San Francisco Bay, there was a garbage dump on the bay. Many years after it closed, the music producer Bill Graham decided to build a pretty good music venue on it. The venue has many seats, and a large, sloping grass area in the back. No one had thought about all of the natural gas percolating below the grass. As concert audiences tend to do, they lit up cigarettes, and, no doubt, smoked other things. Well, the gas rising through the soil reached the discarded matches, cigarettes, and lit on fire. No significant fires, but quite a few surprises. They closed the venue, installed a system to redirect the natural gas away, and resumed operations.
No matter what the bacteria is, the waste is still putrid.
Cows are carbon neutral. Grass grows from carbon dioxide and cows eat the plants.
Reminds me of Back to the Future when the doctor was sorting through trash for the vehicle.
wy69
“New ammonia-tolerant microbe produces renewable natural gas from food leftovers”
Big Whoop! I produce renewable natural gas from food leftovers
Mongo kicked rears and took names, didn’t he?
The left will figure out a reason to ban it if it becomes viable.
yes, but then You are now a Climate Criminal...
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new
discoveries, is not “Eureka!” (I found it!) but “That’s funny ...”
-— Isaac Asimov
“Cows are carbon neutral. Grass grows from carbon dioxide and cows eat the plants.”
Fun fact the primary purpose of a cows rumen aka it’s 4 chambered stomach is to hold and keep the trillions of bacteria happy that actually do the work of breaking down grass aka cellulose and hemicellulose into three chief products....acetic acid is the first and the primary carbon source for the cow’s metabolism propionic acid and butyric acid. These three compounds are the primary volatile fatty acids (VFAs) that serve as the cow’s main energy source.
The bacteria that do this for them are also the primary protein source for the cow not what is in its feed hence is why cow’s can live off 10% incomplete protein grasses the symbiosis with the bacteria makes all the SCP the cow needs.
These very same bacteria also use the acetic acid to make methane inside the cow and it belches the gas out it is false that cows fart they emit 80+% of their methane via the mouth not anus. Literally the same bacteria as you use cow stomach contents or CO2 manure to start an anaerobic digester such as the ones this food waste facility is using you inoculate the digester on its first run with cow bacterial colonies.
Any research that makea waste management more efficient is a good thing. Less organic load to the water outfall keeps toxic algae blooms and red tides down. Less materials on land fills taking up space as well. The byproduct of methane is just gravy. Clean it up compress it and put it in CNG tanks or pipeline it to the gas grid.
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