GM microorganisms used to improve the quality of the fuel. There is a group developed E. coli that produce fuels have longer Carbon Chain and similar to gasoline. There is another group that had genetically modified E. coli to be able to both breakdown cellulose and turn that product into bio-diesel by deleting two genes and adding other genes from other organisms. 

So scientist are going to use the GMO with the E. coli bacteria. They deleted some genes from the E.coli and replaced them with other organisms to produce fuels. They found that the modified E.coli bacteria can break down these materials (lignin and cellulose) and convert them into ethanol

Also the usage of the GMO can improve the quality of the fuel produced from sugar.(the modified bacteria or yeast break down sugars and starch to produce ethanol). 

 There is a research shows that the modified E.coli to produce fuels that have longer carbon chains and are similar to gasoline (longer alcohols store more energy than ethanol, and easier to separate from water). 

Another research shows that the modified E.coli can break down cellulose and turn the products into biodiesel by (deleting two genes from E.coli and adding another genes from other organisms)

Researches show that longer chain alcohols such as octanol, may perform better than ethanol as a fuel             

But these researches are not enough to test the modified bacteria will hurt the human health or the environment or not

One of the main problems with removing most of the lignin in the plant is that the lignin is what gives the plant structure and strength. Removing it results in far shorter plants, reducing the yield of biofuel from the crop.

Working on this problem, researchers have managed to create a way to only remove the lignin from parts of the plant, but not all; allowing most of the cellulose to be easily removed, but without compromising the structural integrity of the plant.

Also the E. coli is genetically modified by deleting some genes and inserting others to increase the ability to break down lignin and cellulose and produce more ethanol, also scientists has modified E. coli to produce fuels that have longer carbon chains and are similar to gasoline. These longer-chain alcohols store more energy than ethanol, are easier to separate from water, and perform better in engines..

 

Some researchers hope to increase the plants to get high yields of fuel as well as improving the technology of extracting for extracting fuel from the plants.

Scientists ferment sugar cane or corn with yeast or bacteria to produce ethanol.

Unfortunately, the edible parts of the plants needed for food are the same used for producing biofuels. As a result, scientists try to find innovative ways for producing biofuels using the inedible parts of the plants or grasses. 

The problem of using grasses and the inedible parts is that those parts contain cellulose and lignin, that are very hard to be broken down.

The solution to this obstacle is the dependence on bacteria that live in those parts of the plant as compost piles, or in the digestive systems of termites and some other organisms.

Currently, scientists are pursuing an approach which is inserting genes from these bacteria into another type of bacteria that grow well on large scales needed for producing commercial ethanol. That bacteria are E. coli bacteria.

E. coli bacteria has been genetically modified in order to break cellulose and lignin down into sugars to produce ethanol.

Microorganisms such as bacteria and yeast are also used to improve the quality of the fuel produced from sugars by breaking the starch and sugar to produce ethanol.

While using ethanol as a fuel in cars and other machines, scientists noticed that ethanol binds with water and then corrodes metals of car's tank; therefore, scientists have modified bacteria to produce fuels with longer carbon chains similar to gasoline which can perform their task better than ethanol.

Really, scientists are exerting their efforts to improve the production of biofuels.

Some scientists are looking forward to making yeast and other microbes that can produce other types of fuels.

Others have modified E. coli bacteria to break down cellulose and produce biodiesel and other related compounds.

Alternatives to developing genetically modified organisms for producing biofuels include:
• Improving the fuel quality of
 plants by selective breeding.
• Weakening plants’ cell walls
 through selective breeding.
• Improving the process of chemically breaking down plant
 matter L584tOM[iu��0

        

 

Alternatives to developing genetically modified organisms for producing biofuels include:
• Improving the fuel quality of plants by selective breeding.
• Weakening plants’ cell walls through selective breeding.
• Improving the process of chemically breaking down plant matter.

1-      We can’t benefit from edible part because it contains lignin and cellulose which hard to break down.

2-       The bad quality of bio fuel such as ethanol which doesn’t do well in engines.

We can solve this problem using GMO. For first problem, we can insert gene from termites in E. coli bacteria and delete some gene to give it ability to break down the edible part in plant.

other scientists are pursuing is to insert genes from termites into other bacteria that grow well on the large scale needed for producing commercial ethanol.

One research group has modified E. coli to produce fuels that have longer carbon chains and are similar 

to gasoline. These longer- chain alcohols store more energy than ethanol  

·         Plants high in starch and sugar are made into ethanol, while vegetable oils and other fats are made into biodiesel. Both of these fuels may be burned in combustion engines in place of fossil fuels

·         Scientists are currently working on ways to overcome several obstacles to the sustainable production of biofuels. They hope to improve the plants themselves to get high yields of fuel, and to improve the technology for extracting fuel from the plants.

·         Most bioethanol is generated by fermenting corn or sugar cane with yeast or bacteria.
 Those crops, however, are also important food crops, and the starchy and sugary edible parts of these plants are the parts needed to make bioethanol.

·         Scientists are trying to find efficient ways to make biofuels from the waste stalks and leaves of crops and from grasses that don’t require the high quality soil that food crops need

·         The difficulty in making fuel from grasses and inedible parts of crops is that they contain two substances —lignin and cellulose—that are very hard to break down. These substances add strength to the plants’ cell walls, but cause problems in the production of biofuels. The solution might be found in bacteria that live in such places as compost piles or in the digestive systems of termites and other organisms.

·         Enzymes that break down wood and the tough parts of plants have been identified in these bacteria. A current approach scientists are pursuing is to insert genes from these bacteria into other. Bacteria that grow well on the large scale needed for producing commercial ethanol. One such bacterium is the very well understood E. coli. Scientists are working on a genetically modified E. coli that can break the lignin and cellulose into sugars that can then be converted to ethanol.

·         Another potential use of genetically modified microorganisms is to improve the quality of the fuel produced from sugars. Typically, yeast or bacteria break down sugars and starch to produce ethanol, a two carbon fuel. Ethanol’s shortcomings.

·         Ethanol is currently used as a fuel, but has some shortcomings

·         however, Ethanol’s shortcomings doesn’t have a high energy content, it binds to water, and it corrodes metals, including those with which storage tanks and cars’ gas tanks are made.

·         One research group has modified E. coli to produce fuels that have longer carbon chains and are similar to gasoline. These longer-chain alcohols store more energy than ethanol, are easier to separate from water, and perform better in engines.

·         The fuels can also be produced through breaking down the plant matter with chemicals,
 but this is expensive and requires a lot of energy.

·         To harness E. coli to produce fuels scientists have deleted several genes in E. coli and
 replaced them with genes from other organisms. These efforts have been somewhat successful. The modified E. coli produces longer-chain alcohols, but not enough for commercial use. Some researchers are trying to determine how to balance each step of the reaction pathway in the E. coli to maximize production of the fuels.

·         Research group has genetically engineered E. coli that are able to both break down cellulose and turn that product into biodiesel and related compounds. They have
 done this by deleting two E. coligenes and adding genes from several other organisms. Although these modified E. coli produce less fuel than needed for commercial
 use, they produce enough that the results are promising.

·         Longer chain alcohols, such as octanol, may perform better than ethanol as a fuel

·         Alternatives to developing genetically modified organisms for producing biofuels include:
• Improving the fuel quality of plants by selective breeding.
• Weakening plants’ cell walls through selective breeding.
• Improving the process of chemically breaking down plant matter.

·          yK��k�ZqN嗢

Types of Biofuels:

1: Ethanol comes from Plants high in starch and sugar.

2: Biodiesel comes from vegetable oils and other fats

 

 

They hope to improve the plants themselves to get high yields of fuel, and to improve the technology for extracting fuel from the plants.

Most bioethanol is generated by fermenting corn or sugar cane with yeast or bacteria.

Bioethanol is made by the starchy and sugary edible parts of these plants 

 

Scientists are trying to find efficient ways to make biofuels from the waste stalks and leaves of crops and from grasses that don’t require the high quality soil that food crops need.

The problem is found in lignin and cellulose that are very hard to break down 

 

The solution might be found in bacteria that live in such places as compost piles or in the digestive systems of termites and other organisms. Scientists are going to insert genes from these bacteria into other bacteria that grow well on the large scale needed for producing commercial ethanol such as E-coli.

 

E. coli produce fuels that have longer carbon chains and are similar to gasoline. These longer-chain

alcohols store more energy than ethanol, are easier to separate from water, and perform better in engines.

 

Alternatives to developing genetically modified organisms for producing biofuels include:

1: Improving the fuel quality of plants by selective breeding.

2: Weakening plants’ cell walls through selective breeding.

3: Improving the process of chemically breaking down plant matter.

 

 

Case study

             Fossil fuels are the essential source for powering the world. However, disturbances of its environmental impacts and its availability have led to search for alternatives. For instance, Bio-fuels (BF) are one of the alternatives of the fossil fuels.

             Bio-fuels (BF) are compounds that are produced from renewable biological sources, including bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. For ethanol plants with high starch and sugar are good sources. In case of bio-diesel, vegetable oils and other fats are good source. 

             Current work is focusing on improving the yield of plants used in the process and improving the technology that is used in extracting fuel from the plants. One considered part in current researches is genetically modified organisms (GMO). Now, most of bioethanol is generated by fermenting the corn or sugar cane with bacteria or yeast. The crops are important food crops as well as needed to make ethanol. For reducing the use of edible part of the plant to produce ethanol, scientists try to find way to produce the ethanol from the leaves, waste stalks of the plants, or grasses that don’t require high quality soil. The obstruction of making biofuel from inedible parts of the plants or grasses is that they contain cellulose and lignin that are very hard to break down. Scientists found the enzymes that break down cellulose and lignin in certain bacteria. Recently, they inserted the gene of these enzymes in E. coli bacterium that reproduce at high rate. But the problem here is that the shortcomings of the ethanol are that it binds to water and corrodes metal. Again, group of scientists have inserted genes increase the long of carbon chain. Consequently, the energy content would increase, ease of separation from water would increase, and perform better in the engines. In contrast, there are now some microbes produce biofuel but in small amounts. Another way to produce biofuel is breaking down plant parts with chemical substances. But this way is very expensive. The modified E. coli produces long chain alcohol but not for commercial use. The big challenge for the modified E. coli is that, there is no sufficient safety and there might be unintended consequences on the human health. 

             Alternatives to developing genetically modified organisms for producing biofuel are:

1-  Increasing the fuel quality of the plants by selective breeding.

2-Weakening the cell wall by selective breeding.

3-  Improving the process of chemically breaking down the plant matter.

 

 

 

             Finally, scientific advances and policy have their significant role in the decision of using genetically modified organisms in production of biofuel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great thanks,

Ahmed Ali Mohamed Ali Ramadan 

2-B

2016-2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scientists are improving the plants to get high yields of biofuels. Bioethanol is made from parts of plants needed for humans.

 

Scientists are trying to find efficient ways to make biofuels from the waste stalks and leaves of crops and from grasses that don’t require the high quality soil that food crops need.

The problem is found in lignin and cellulose that are very hard to break down 

 

 This can be solved with bacteria that live in such places as compost piles or in the digestive systems of termites and other organisms. Scientists are going to insert genes from these bacteria into E coli.

 

E coli produce fuels that have longer carbon that store more energy than ethanol, are easier to separate from water, and perform better in engines.

 

Alternatives to developing genetically modified organisms for producing biofuels include:

1.     Improving the fuel quality of plants by selective breeding.

2.     Weakening plants’ cell walls through selective breeding.

3.     Improving the process of chemically breaking down plant matter.

 

Signed: Mudathir Ebrahim El-5alook

 

The world is running out of oil so we are looking for better choices. These are biofuel and biodiesel.

 

GMO are being used to help make bioethanol; to find efficient ways to make biofuels from the waste stalks and leaves of crops and from grasses instead of sweet crops important for humans that need good soil. The problem is found in lignin and cellulose.

 

This can be solved with bacteria that live in such places as compost piles or in the digestive systems of termites and other organisms. Scientists are going to insert genes from these bacteria into E coli.

 

E coli produce fuels that have longer carbon that store more energy than ethanol, are easier to separate from water, and perform better in engines.

 

Alternatives to developing genetically modified organisms for producing biofuels include:

•          Improving the fuel quality of

plants by selective breeding.

•          Weakening plants’ cell walls

through selective breeding.

•          Improving the process of chemically breaking down plant

matter.

Ethanol boosters: The bacteria in this petri dish have been genetically modified to increase the amount of biofuel that can be made from sugar.

Conventional biofuels are either too expensive to compete with fossil fuels or they release so much carbon dioxide that they’re hardly worth making—or both.

The UCLA advance, which increases the amount of biofuel that can be made from sugar by 50 percent, could make it cheaper to produce biofuels from a variety of sources, especially biomass such as wood chips and grass. The U.S. biofuels industry is in desperate need of such advances—even though Congress has mandated that a certain amount of biofuel from biomass be blended with gasoline, high costs and other factors have limited production, leading the EPA to repeatedly waive the requirement.

The UCLA work is a “promising advance in biofuels technology,” says Wade Robey, chief technology officer at the ethanol producer POET. He says it shows the potential of advanced genetic engineering “to drastically reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of corn or biomass used to produce a gallon of biofuel.”

In conventional biofuels production, sugar derived from sources such as corn and biomass is fed to yeast, which ferments it to produce ethanol. But the fermentation process wastes a third of the carbon atoms that make up sugar; rather than being used to make ethanol, the carbon is released in the form of carbon dioxide.

The UCLA researchers cobbled together genes from a variety of organisms to create an alternate way to process sugar that doesn’t emit any carbon dioxide, and uses all of the carbon in sugar to make biofuel. They created genetically modified E. coli bacteria to demonstrate the process, but they say the same genetic pathway could be incorporated into other organisms, including yeast.

“Anytime you use fermentation, you lose one-third of the carbon to carbon dioxide. We can retain that carbon, reduce the carbon footprint of ethanol production, and make more money,” says James Liao, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UCLA.

In order to use all of the carbon in sugar, it’s necessary to add hydrogen to the process. The source of that hydrogen and its cost relative to the cost of sugar determine both the total carbon emissions and the cost savings. Using hydrogen from natural gas is the cheapest option. But getting hydrogen from natural gas also releases carbon dioxide, offsetting some of the carbon dioxide savings of the new process. In this case, emissions from the production of ethanol would be reduced by about 50 percent. Using hydrogen made by splitting water with solar power would eliminate all of the carbon dioxide emitted during fermentation, but the cost would likely be too high for the process to be economical.

Since the new approach produces more ethanol from sugar, less land would be needed to produce corn or biomass. And that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions involved in farming (such as from clearing land and using diesel to power farm equipment).

The biggest cost savings will be for cellulosic ethanol derived from biomass. Sugar from cellulosic sources is much more expensive than sugar from corn or sugarcane, so there are greater benefits to getting more biofuel out of that sugar.

Researchers still need to demonstrate that it’s possible to grow organisms with the genetic changes at a large enough scale to produce commercial biofuels.

Biofuel has 2 types: bioethanol and biodiesel are compounds that are produced from renewable biological sources.

Bioethanol: Plants high in starch and sugar are made into ethanol

Biodiesel: vegetable oils and other fats are made into biodiesel

Both of these fuels may be burned in combustion engines in place of fossil fuels

Scientists are currently working on ways to overcome several obstacles to the sustainable production of biofuels. They hope to improve the plants themselves to get high yields of fuel, and to improve the technology for extracting fuel fromthe plants 

Most bioethanol is generated by fermenting corn orsugar cane with yeast or bacteria. Those crops, however, are also important food crops, and the starchy and sugary edible parts of these plants are the parts needed to make bioethanol.

For this reason, scientistsare trying to find efficient ways to make biofuels from the waste stalks and leaves of crops and from grasses, the difficulty in making fuel from grasses and inedible parts of crops is that they contain two substances lignin and cellulose that are very hard to break down so solution might found in bacteria that live in such places as compost piles or in the digestive systems of termites and other organisms. Enzymes that break down wood and the tough parts of plants have been identified in these bacteria. A current approach scientists are pursuing is to insert genes from these bacteria into other bacteria that grow well on the large scale needed for producing commercial ethanol such as E. coli another potential use of genetically modified microorganisms is to improve the quality of the fuel produced from sugars 

Yeastor bacteria break down sugars and starch to produce ethanol, a two carbon fuel. Ethanol’s shortcomings, however, are that it doesn’t have a high energy content, it binds to water, and it corrodes metals, including those with which storage tanks and cars’ gas tanks are made. One research group has modified E. coli to produce fuels that havelonger carbon chains and are similar to gasoline

The fuels can also be produced through breaking down the plant matter with chemicals, but this is expensive and requires a lot of energy

There are three types for improving biofuels :

•Improving the fuel quality of plants by selective breeding.

•Weakening plants’ cell walls through selective breeding.

•Improving the process of chemically breaking down plant matter.

Biofuels can be extracted from food crops: sugarcane, corn (ethanol) and soybean (biodiesel). They can also be extracted from wood and grass which is more difficult to breakdown. They can also be extracted from algea. Advanced biofuels can be extracted from garbage, animal fats and spent cooking oil.

Biofuels can be considered to some extent renewable. So research has been made to try to use Genetically Modified Microorganisms to increase the yield of biofuels and improve technology for extracting biofuels from plants.

One problem that faces biofuel extraction is that some parts of the plant are very hard to breakdown due to containing of lignin and cellulose. A solution was found to use enzymes from bacteria that live in such places as compost piles or in the digestive systems of termites and other organisms. As they produce enzymes that break down wood.

Another solution is to improve quality of the fuel produced from sugar by increasing the carbon chain.

Cities, homes, factories, cars, and trucks throughout the world are powered primarily by fossil fuels. Biofuels can be considered to some extent renewable. So research has been made to try to use Genetically Modified Microorganisms to increase the yield of biofuels and improve technology for extracting biofuels from plants. And there is a problem that faces biofuel extraction is that some parts of the plant are very hard to breakdown due to containing of lignin and cellulose. A solution was found to use enzymes from bacteria that live in such places as compost piles or in the digestive systems of termites and other organisms. As they produce enzymes that break down wood.
 
 

Another solution is to improve quality of the fuel produced from sugar by increasing the carbon chain.

 

 

 Researchers went to the way of GMO of bacteria to overcome many problems as hardiness of lignin and cellulose in breaking down found in grasses and inedible parts of crops. So researchers got genes from other bacteria and introduced them to the bacteria responsible for biofuel manufacturing. Another modification was producing longer carbon. These longer-chain alcohols store more energy than ethanol.

 It supports sustainability, as it is a renewable resource of fuel that can be used in future generations as long as there is agriculture.

One research group has modified E. coli to produce fuels that have longer carbon chains and are similar to gasoline. Other research is looking at per forming a similar genetic modification in yeast and other microbes that are often used in converting plant material into other types of biofuel. A third research group has genetically engineered E. coli that are able to both break down cellulose and turn that product into biodiesel and related compounds. 

But discoveries of huge petroleum deposits kept gasoline and diesel cheap for decades, and biofuels were largely forgotten. However, with the recent rise in oil prices, along with growing concern about global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions, biofuels have been regaining popularity.

Gasoline and diesel are actually ancient biofuels. But they are known as fossil fuels because they are made from decomposed plants and animals that have been buried in the ground for millions of years. Biofuels are similar, except that they're made from plants grown today.

Much of the gasoline in the United States is blended with a biofuel—ethanol. This is the same stuff as in alcoholic drinks, except that it's made from corn that has been heavily processed. There are various ways of making biofuels, but they generally use chemical reactions, fermentation, and heat to break down the starches, sugars, and other molecules in plants. The leftover products are then refined to produce a fuel that cars can use.

Countries around the world are using various kinds of biofuels. For decades, Brazil has turned sugarcane into ethanol, and some cars there can run on pure ethanol rather than as additive to fossil fuels. And biodiesel—a diesel-like fuel commonly made from palm oil—is generally available in Europe.

On the face of it, biofuels look like a great solution. Cars are a major source of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas that causes global warming. But since plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, crops grown for biofuels should suck up about as much carbon dioxide as comes out of the tailpipes of cars that burn these fuels. And unlike underground oil reserves, biofuels are a renewable resource since we can always grow more crops to turn into fuel.

Unfortunately, it's not so simple. The process of growing the crops, making fertilizers and pesticides, and processing the plants into fuel consumes a lot of energy. It's so much energy that there is debate about whether ethanol from corn actually provides more energy than is required to grow and process it. Also, because much of the energy used in production comes from coal and natural gas, biofuels don't replace as much oil as they use.

For the future, many think a better way of making biofuels will be from grasses and saplings, which contain more cellulose. Cellulose is the tough material that makes up plants' cell walls, and most of the weight of a plant is cellulose. If cellulose can be turned into biofuel, it could be more efficient than current biofuels, and emit less carbon dioxide.