University of Exeter researchers get microbes to produce fuel nearly identical to diesel

In the UK, researchers at the University of Exeter have found a way to get the organisms to produce fuel nearly identical to diesel. This will help meet future fuel demands without the need to change existing infrastructure and help extend the lifespan of existing petroleum supplies. In addition, the production space required for these fuels would not compete for land used for food production, as many biofuel production spaces do.

The results from the research group – the Exeter Microbial Biofuels Group (EMBG) – showed that even under optimal conditions, natural microorganisms cannot produce commercially acceptable volumes of biofuel. Natural systems being inadequate, the team used Synthetic Biology to produce, in bacteria, alkanes with the same fuel characteristics as petroleum.