Biology Could Be Used To Turn Sugar Into Diesel

ABCTech has an interesting article about an Emeryville-based tech startup, Amyris Biotechnologies, that is planning to use microbes to turn sugar into diesel. Ethanol is made by adding sugar to yeast, but Amyris believes that it can reprogram the microbes to make something closer to gasoline. The company was initially given a $43 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to attempt to research the applications of Synthetic Biology for making a cost-effective malaria drug. Jack Newman, the Vice-President of Amyris said, "Why are we making ethanol if we're trying to make a fuel? We should be making something that looks a lot more like gasoline. We should be making something that looks a lot more like diesel. And if you wanted to design, you name it, a jet fuel? We can make that too."

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the magical fruit

[macadamia_harold]

Ethanol is made by adding sugar to yeast, but Amyris believes that it can reprogram the microbes to make something closer to gasoline.

They should add suger to beans. They're great for making gas.

Isn't this a little late?

[Eddi3]

By the time this is a viable way to get your gasoline, I'd really hope we'd be onto higher technologies then this. You know, like that Eleck Trick stuff, Or that Hydro Jen whatchamacallits.

-E

Note from Africa

[Propaganda13]

We're still dying from Malaria, but thanks for the cheap fuel.

This is GREAT!

[kmhebert]

I'm going to go pour sugar into my gas tank! Wait here!

Re:Diesel tree, hydrogen, ethanol etc.

[s4m7]

Yeah man, and the government, it's the government that's keeping us down, man: who do you think killed the perpetual motion machine, man? The government that's who, and they won't tell us about aliens or the mind control chemicals and rays and oh, I'm sure there's at least one more I can work in here.

The trees. Man, the trees hate us too.

Re:Note from Africa

[TapeCutter]

"thanks for the cheap fuel"

Quiet, if you tell the whole world you have cheap fuel, someone is likely to liberate you and/or the fuel.

Re:Diesel tree, hydrogen, ethanol etc.

[OldManAndTheC++]

-1 Troll
+2 Concept for next Mel Gibson Movie
--
+1 Net points

Please mod accordingly.

Re:Next they'll work on snakeoil

[uvajed_ekil]

No, really, they'll use snakes to make oil. Get it? Got it? Good.

Which means instead of dino juice fueling air travel, we may have snakes on a plane. I'm not sure of the source now but something I saw recently makes me think this may not be such a great idea, to have snakes on a plane. (Maybe it's just me, as I don't trust reptiles in any form, since that one pretty good book, anyway.)

had to be said

[edwardpickman]

Ah, the sweet smell of diesel!

Cheney got a gun...

[Tumbleweed]

Isn't that a song from Aerosmith?

Re:Cheney got a gun...

[TapeCutter]

Yep! [youtube.com]

Considering his current popularity the line "Run away, run-run-awayeyeyey, from the vice, pressss-ident" turned out to be quite prophetic :)

Re:Next they'll work on snakeoil

[Jesus_666]

Well, if you put motherfucking snakes on a motherfucking plan you get a much higher amount of motherfucking emissions. While motherfucking is not as bad, greenhouse-wise, as CO2, it's still pretty motherfucking bad.

Re:the magical fruit

[PopeRatzo]

And on top of it, they've just found massive sugar fields beneath the arctic wilderness. Man, those caribou can NOT catch a break.

Re:Diesel tree, hydrogen, ethanol etc.

[proxy318]

Fuel? Hell man, I hear they got a car that runs on water.

Re:Diesel tree, hydrogen, ethanol etc.

[MrNiceguy_KS]

What, you mean like a boat?

Re:the magical fruit

[Sku-Lad]

but relatively small tropical areas to grow sugar.

A decade or two of Global Warming should cure that.