Making Clean Methane from Microbes (2 of 2) (VIDEO)
Caption
Microbes that convert electricity into methane could become an important source of renewable energy, according to Stanford Professor Alfred Spormann. His lab is raising colonies of microorganisms that use electrical energy to transform atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into pure methane, the key ingredient in natural gas. The goal is to create microbial factories that will transform clean electricity from solar and wind power into methane fuel and valuable chemical compounds for industry. The process is carbon neutral, because all of the CO2 released during combustion is recycled back into the atmosphere where it came from. Stanford University: http://www.stanford.edu/ and Global Climate and Energy Project http://gcep.stanford.edu/
Credit
Mark Shwartz, Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy
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