Create renewable jet fuel from bacteria, replacing fossil energy in the future

Oil is less and less, the need to find new renewable energy sources

In 1999, the American Petroleum Institute (APA) published a report showing that the Earth's oil reserves could dry up anytime between 2062 and 2094. However, a study this year. 2019 from Stanford University's Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere (MAHB) predicts that the world will run out of oil much sooner, i.e. in 2054. Imagine a world where planes don't fly, Jets don't protect national borders, cargo can't be transported, and rockets can't leave Earth because there's no oil.

Since the global aviation, shipping and aerospace industries run on oil, its depletion could lead to worldwide chaos. The recent shortage of oil has caused fuel prices globally to rise to unprecedented levels. Recently, gasoline prices in various US states crossed the $5/gallon mark, a new all-time high.

That is why many industries are scientists who are constantly looking for renewable energy sources that can replace fossil fuels, especially oil. An important step taken in this direction was the fact that scientists at Lawrence Laboratories produced renewable jet fuel from bacteria.

How to produce jet fuel from streptomyces bacteria?

Jay Keasling, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of California, along with researcher Pablo Cruz Morales, also discussed being able to create a molecule called Jawsamycin. Pablo had previously worked with streptomyces bacteria, so he knew that Jawsamycin is a molecule that is naturally produced by the metabolic reactions in the body of streptomyces bacteria.

Streptomyces bacteria form fuelimycin molecules.

The molecule has the potential to release huge amounts of energy, and "it's going to be an explosive idea." His team set to work on the idea. They engineered Streptomyces coelicolor bacteria in cultures with sugars, salts and certain amino acids, then harvested the bacteria, disrupted them, and separated the oil (containing molecules similar to Jawsamycin) produced. in their body. In the end, they decided to esterify the oils and a new biofuel was ready.

The lab-synthesized molecule has a similar function to Jawsamycin, which Pablo and his colleagues call 'fuelimycin'. Talking about the pros and cons of biofuels compared to conventional fuels, Pablo says that their fuels are produced using renewable processes, while traditional fuels are derived from petroleum POP-FAME can also store more energy so they can be more efficient if produced on a large scale.

However, the current disadvantage is that there is still no economically viable large-scale production method and it is difficult to compete with fossil fuels when they are subsidized and the global economy is built. around them. However, scientists hope for a change, because the climate is changing and people need to stop using fossil fuels to slow the process.

Powerful chemistry of the molecule from bacteria

Natural jawsamycin is a molecule produced in the body of streptomyces bacteria when they ingest sugars or amino acids and then converts them into molecules that form cyclopropane rings (triangular 3-carbon structure) in digestive process. According to the researchers, the process of Jawsamycin formation is similar to the production of fat in the human body, however, it is the high-energy cyclopropane rings that make the difference.

Biofuel from streptomyces could even power future rockets.

Fat is formed by the accumulation of more glucose (a six-carbon molecule) in the body in the form of glycogen. Compared to six carbon molecules, triangular three carbon molecules require more energy to form them. Chemically, if there are bonds at a normal angle, an open chain of carbons, the carbons can be flexible and they become loose. And if you turn them into a six-carbon ring, they can still move a little bit. However, the triangular shape causes the bonds to bend, and that tension requires energy to create.

The construction of the Jawsamycin and fuelimycin molecules is facilitated by an enzyme called polyketide synthases. Polyketide synthases are multi-enzyme complexes similar to fatty acid synthases that produce oil compounds in humans and many other organisms. The researchers also found that the activity of the enzyme polyketide synthases forms a high-energy cyclopropane ring.

They believe their biofuels could power jets, civil aircraft and even rocket fuels in the future, but to make this possible, a lot of work is needed. many more things. The team says the next steps are to make the bacteria produce more of this product and further modify the product so it can be used for more applications such as transportation, rockets and aviation.