Microbes in the form of methane-eating bacteria were used by researchers from the Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, to convert the greenhouse gas into fuel.
This is the first time that a state-of-the-art method reinforced the connection between biological organisms, energy, and climate.
Methane-Eating Bacteria
A new research paper was published in the journal Science on March 17.
The study allowed scientists to discover that anaerobic methanotrophic bacteria can consume methane and convert it to useable fuel.
This methane-eating bacteria used the enzyme methane monooxygenase through the process of bacterial methane oxidation.
Northwestern University researchers used cryo-electron microscopy as a technique to determine the enzyme found within the cell membrane of the bacteria.
The method allowed the researchers to remove it from the membrane using a detergent solution, according to Northwestern University news.
The researchers then recreated the enzyme in a new yet similar native environment where bacterial methane oxidation occurs.
They found the internal process of methane to fuel conversion happens at an atomic level. It is also the reason why it was previously challenging to study it in the first place.
Also Read: Methane and Climate Change: Arctic Bacteria Might Eat Methane?
Rising Fuel Prices
The study came at a time when the global fuel price has increased amid the Russian-Ukraine war since February 24.
In a "chain effect" impact, the flow of maritime activities related to oil and gas production has become challenging in the region due to the threats posed by the war.
This has led to a series of events that prompted manufacturers, suppliers, and oil companies to increase the value of the energy resource, especially gasoline and diesel.
According to Reuters, world governments have looked into alternative solutions through economic and taxation reforms.
However, the new research also sheds light on the possibility that microbes can also contribute to independent fuel production, instead of the reliance of today's world economy on the conventional oil and gas industry.
In the Northwestern University study, the microbes were able to consume 30 million metric tons of methane per year.
The conversion yielded an unspecified amount of usable fuel.
Nevertheless, the study held promising results in the field of oil and gas.
Climate Change
The new study can also be applicable in addressing the issue of climate change, wherein world leaders can use the theoretical and practical approach of the new paper to not only look into alternative fuel production but also decrease the emission of methane.
Over the past 100 years, the impact of human-induced emission of greenhouse gases, including methane, has accelerated the greenhouse gas effect, as per the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Multiple research has shown that the said natural phenomenon is caused by trapped gases in the Earth's atmosphere, and these gases absorb the solar heat from the sun, resulting in the global warming of the planet.
With this, the new study hopes that a new perspective toward microbes can serve as a catalyst for mitigating the greenhouse gas effect, as well as ultimately fighting climate change and global warming.
Moreover, methane-eating consumption can yield more fuel production.
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