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Gribbles and biofuel

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  • Gribbles and biofuel



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    Just what, you may ask, is a gribble? It’s a tiny marine isopod, and it eats wood. For centuries, they destroyed wooden ships. Today, they continue to munch away on docks and piers. Unlike creatures such as termites, however, gribbles have no helpful microbes in their digestive system to help them digest wood - they themselves possess the enzymes necessary for converting it to sugar. British researchers are now suggesting that what works for the gribbles could also work for converting wood waste and straw into liquid biofuels.

    The research was conducted by scientists at the BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Center at the Universities of York and Portsmouth. They came to their conclusions by examining genes found in the guts of the gribbles. The isopods’ digestive tracts, they discovered, are dominated by enzymes that attack the polymers that make up wood. One of the most abundant enzymes is a cellulose-degrading enzyme, never before seen in any other animal.

    The researchers at York are now trying to determine just how the enzymes work, and whether they can be adapted to industrial applications. "The world needs to quickly reduce its dependence on fossil fuels” said Duncan Eggar, BBSRC Bioenergy Champion. “Sustainably produced bioenergy offers the potential to rapidly introduce liquid transport fuels into our current energy mix."
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    If it takes 150 million domestic bovines and 350 million wild ruminants to add 8% to the world's methane balance sheet, how many gribbles would be needed?
    Brian (the devil incarnate)

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    • #3
      Presuming their enzyme creates methane a whole lot, but are we certain that is the case? Gut bacteria do in ruminants and termites, but these guys supposedly don't have them.
      Dr. Mordrid
      ----------------------------
      An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

      I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

      Comment


      • #4
        I think the production of methane would be a good thing in this situation.
        It would be closed system so you could capture the methane for fuel.
        Since wood is renewable you have a closed loop.

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