Better Biofuel Process Beckons

摘要

A PROCESS that uses engineered bacteria to streamline production could make biofuels a viable competitor to fossil fuels, believe researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), Berkeley, Calif. The E. coli they engineered tolerates the liquid salt (ionic liquid) used to deconstruct plant biomass into sugary polymers. The bacteria eliminates the need to remove the liquid salt, as ordinarily is required, allowing a one-pot method for producing advanced biofuels.