Using Microbes to Make 'Clean' Methane

Researchers at Stanford University and Pennsylvania State University are raising colonies of microorganisms, called methanogens, which have the remarkable ability to turn electrical energy into pure methane – the key ingredient in natural gas. The scientists' goal is to create large microbial factories that will transform clean electricity from solar, wind, or nuclear power into renewable methane fuel and other valuable chemical compounds for industry.

Transcript

00:00:00 [sound]. Stanford University. The basic objective of this program is to develop a new technology that enables to convert electrical energy into chemical energy. But we're using the capacity of biology, specifically of micro-organisms, to produce interesting chemicals. So what these organisms typically do, they use CO2 from the atmosphere and use hydrogen and basically form methane as the end product, Which allows them to grow and thrive. And our approach is to simply use CO2 for atmosphere CO2 and electrical energy to produce this. >> So, what we are testing in this system is, whether, microbes can use electrons that are provided here through these

00:00:59 cables, into the cathode, into these electrode, and use CO2 and make interesting compounds out of this. For example, methane, or acetate, or isoprenes, and other, compounds. >> In the end, you want to have a system, Then, that you switch on and the microorganisms produce methane for a long time, for weeks. The advantage is that if you use atmospheric CO2, these hydrocarbons can be then used as fuels, they can be used in chemical industry to make new products, which can be then ultimately combusted. This is all, in a CO2 neutral way. That's fundamentally different from our way using petroleum compounds currently. For more, please visit us at stanford.edu.