Coal-Eating Microbes Might Create Vast Amounts of Natural Gas
Though the idea of microbial production is not new, says Julio Friedmann, chief energy technologist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the technology has taken great strides in recent years, in large part because researchers know more about the different microörganisms that work together to digest coal and produce methane. “I know a handful of companies working on those technologies that seem to have pretty good recovery of natural gas at pretty good cost,” he says. That, he adds, creates a potentially significant market opportunity, and “I wouldn’t have guessed that a couple of years ago.”
Damn, technology keeps arriving to provide inexpensive fossil fuels. The Greens could use a breakthrough in both solar cell and battery technology. Now, R&D IS where government should be allocating (our tax) dollars, not playing venture capitalist.
