So to break the stranglehold of foreign oil, scientists and engineers are developing something calledelectro-fuels. The alternative fuel comes from running a charge of electricity through a solution containing strange microorganisms that feed on harmful ammonia or hydrogen sulfides. The charge induces to the organisms to convert carbon dioxide into the same kind of fuels we use to run our cars.
These bugs make the conversion without petroleum, biomass or sunlight –- all in an enclosed cell. The DOE is funding 15 labs across the country to find the best electro-fuel solution, and of course at a reasonable cost. Vice President Biden recently gave a nod to Boulder, Colo.-based OPX Biotechnologies, which claims it will produce its first renewable chemical product, BioAcrylic, at lower cost than petro-acrylic with a 75 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The company's second product is diesel fuel bio-processed from carbon dioxide and hydrogen, according to its website.
A team at North Carolina State University is combining enzymes from one microbe that grows at 75 degrees Celsius (167 F) with a second one that feeds off hydrogen. This genetic marriage produces precursors to biofuels like ethanol and butanol.
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