The fungus that is central to the development is called Aspergillus carbonarius (coded ITEM 5010). The fungus has been used to produce hydrocarbons. These form the basis petroleum, and the type produced is suitable as an aviation fuel.
Biofuels are big business especially in relation to the predicted scarcity of fossil fuels and the relative costs. Biofuels include fuels manufactured from biomass conversion (such as plant matter.)
To generate the hydrocarbons the fungus digested oatmeal, wheat straw and the non-edible leftovers from corn production. The fungus did so by producing an enzyme that is capable of converting biomass to sugars. To achieve this took many test experiments due to the complexities of fungal biology, going down to the molecular level.
However, once the conditions were optimized the fungus did most of the processing unaided and, in test conditions, became a ‘natural’ generator of biofuels. The process continues to be optimized in order to maximize the yield and to make the process as economical as possible. This involves finding the optimal strains and producing slight mutant variants of the fungus.
Perhaps controversially the particular fungus has been patented (which raises questions of exactly how a company has the rights to a microorganism found commonly in nature.) Here the trick is to slightly alter the organism. Native microorganisms in their original form cannot be patented. However, microbes can be patented if they have been genetically modified. In addition, the process and the product obtained can also be patented.
The study was led by scientists based at Washington State University. The research has been published in the journal Fungal Biology. The research paper is titled “Production of hydrocarbons by Aspergillus carbonarius ITEM 5010.”
Another potential source of biofuels is algae. Like fungi, algae are a potentially useful natural resource because they proliferate quickly and are found in abundance. Algae can be converted into different types of fuel, depending on the process and the part of the cells used. If the oily part of the algae biomass is extracted this can be converted into biodiesel. Whereas the carbohydrate content of algae can be fermented into bioethanol or butanol fuel.
