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[Michaelangelica]

Wee Beasties to pyrolysis to charcoal to soil to more Wee Beasties?

When people think of capturing sunlight energy in biomass, they focus on plants, which are familiar. However, plants are quite inefficient at capturing sunlight energy and turning it into biomass that can be used a fuel,"
. . .
"Photosynthetic bacteria can capture sunlight energy at rates 100 times or more greater than plants, and they do not compete for arable land," Rittmann said.
This high rate of energy capture means that renewable biofuels can be generated in quantities that rival our current use of fossil fuels.

In addition, non-photosynthetic microorganisms are capable of converting the energy value of all kinds of biomass, including wastes, into readily useful energy forms, such as methane, hydrogen, and electricity.

"Microorganisms can provide just the services our society needs to move from fossil fuels to renewable biofuels," said Rittmann.
"Only the microorganisms can pass all the tests, and we should take full advantage of the opportunities that microorganisms present."

Journal reference:

1. Rittmann et al. Opportunities for renewable bioenergy using microorganisms. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2008; 100 (2): 203 DOI: 10.1002/bit.21875

Adapted from materials provided by Arizona State University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Harnessing Microbes To Meet Our Future Energy Needs