In Praise of Poop 2: E. coli Waste as a New Form of Biofuel

Justin Van Kleeck — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:00:37 +0000

Now that we have picked apart the many hidden wonders of cow manure, we may safely examine yet another, more recent entry in the annals of excellent excrement: E. coli.

Believe it or not, E. coli may actually be useful for something other than infecting spinach or beef, giving you a serious case of diarrhea, and initiating massive recalls of different food products. The waste of these reputedly nasty little bacteria can, in fact, be used as a source for biofuel. No…er, joke.

As CNN reported recently, a biotech lab in San Francisco, LS9 Inc., is using a harmless form of E. coli to make biodiesel. The genetically altered bacteria get fed various forms of sugars, anything from sugar cane to wood chips or other plant waste, and after munching their little mitochondria out (they do not have hearts, after all), they poop the equivalent of diesel fuel.1 Now that is some exciting excrement!

Green Options » LS9 Inc.

In Praise of Poop 2: E. coli Waste as a New Form of Biofuel