New Delhi: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati researchers have found a novel biological route to produce cleaner biofuels using methanotrophic bacteria converting methane and carbon dioxide.
The research by Prof. Debasish Das and Dr. Krishna Kalyani Sahoo from IIT Guwahati, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, was published in the journal Fuel by Elsevier.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 27-30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The conversion of methane and carbon dioxide into liquid biofuels can reduce emissions and provide a renewable energy source. However, traditional chemical methods for this process require significant energy, are costly, and often produce toxic by-products, limiting their large-scale application.
In this regard, the IIT Guwahati team made a fully biological process, known as Methylosinus trichosporium, a type of methanotrophic bacteria that converts methane and carbon dioxide into bio-methanol under mild operating conditions. The institute said that it differs from the conventional chemical process because it does not consume expensive catalysts, avoids byproducts formation that are toxic, and is more energy-efficient.
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