Shitake Mushrooms make Gourmet Biofuel
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 7.05
We often make fun of ethanol as a less-than-zero sum game, but people keep trying. In the forest, Shitake mushrooms produce an enzyme that dissolves wood, turning it into sugars that they feed on and creating rich soil. In the lab, scientists at the US Department of Agriculture have isolated the gene that creates the enzyme, and GM'ed a yeast to produce it. They hope that it can be used to digest rice hulks and harvest leftovers to make lots of ethanol. And, it may make an interesting risotto.::Renewable Energy Access
Ethenol hasn't been energy negative in 30 years. It's not the MOST effective way to produce fule, but if we are moving away from fossil let's not make the same mistake twice. Keeping diverse sources of fule is a good idea.
Additionaly, this research is directed twoards cellulose based ethinol, that's derived from agro-waste. Which is harvested allong with the primary crop, left in the feild to rot, or burnt in the field. While celulose ethinol is still not verry efficient, it has a massive upside of being able to make ALLOT of cheap fule from current waste products. If it ever works..