July 28, 2017
The average person might struggle
to get excited about bacterium found in rabbit droppings – but it's potentially
a knight in shining armour for our planet.
Researchers at The University of
Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN)
and US company LanzaTech have developed a computer model that harnesses ancient
microorganisms for an environmentally sound industrial waste conversion method.
AIBN researcher Dr Esteban Marcellin
said LanzaTech, a gas fermentation company, was particularly interested in a
bacterium called Clostridium autoethanogenum, originally discovered in rabbit
droppings.
"LanzaTech uses this
bacterium (which falls under the broader class of acetogens) as part of its
carbon capture and reuse process, whereby industrial waste gases such as steel
mill exhaust are converted into useful by-products like ethanol," Dr
Marcellin said.
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