Creating Biofuels from Waste Essay -- Energy Fuel Environment

Biofuels from Waste Purpose Biofuels mark a great step into today’s efforts to slow down global warming. However, when food sources, such as corn and soy are used as derivatives for ethanol, the impact is far worse than using fossil fuels. Biofuels require more energy to do artificial refinery, cultivating, and collecting; whereas, fossil fuels already meet all the prerequisites through millions of years in the earth, and thus use less energy. On the social justice stance, the poor suffer through the sky-rocketed food prices because farmers are using their food to supply the ethanol demand. As technology becomes more efficient, society can rely on a source of energy that deters global warming, uses less energy to process, and betters the world economy. Question Which specific cellulase from fungi breaks down bleached paper waste efficiently? Why? Bleached paper is solely composed of cellulose (20-25%) which it makes it an ideal source for fuel because its lack in lignin makes it more efficient in the refinery process. Fungi serve as vital decomposers in the natural world. By channeling this idea to break down paper waste into sugars, the possibilities are endless. Terms to know †¢ Cellulase are enzymes that break down cellulose. Fungi and bacteria have special enzymes that are designed to decompose material. †¢ His-tag is a tag that helps the identification process by attaching to a protein. A His-tag is a small tag that aids the purification process by binding with a nickel NTA matrix. Materials -Agar plates -Sterile q-tips -Yeast -Incubator -Bleached paper waste -Fungi -PCR -Primers -Blue dye -Plasmid: pTrcHis-Topo -Wash buffer -Elution buffer -LB broth -E.Coli competent cells -Ice -Water -Filter .. ...15 July 2008. Biofuels: for Transport. United Kingdom: German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, 2007. Feldstein, Paul. "PCR." COSMOS. Hutchinson Hall, Davis. 10 July 2008. Lindsay, LeAnn. â€Å"Cellulase Assay.† COSMOS. Hutchinson Hall, Davis. 30 July 2008. Nag, Ahindra. Biofuels Refining and Performance. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Pyles, Denver. Use of Biodiesel-Derived Crude Glycerol for the Production of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids by the Microalga Schizochytrium Limacinum. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Blackburg, 2008. 13 July 2008 . Sticklen, Mariam B. "Plant Genetic Engineering for Biofuel Production: Towards Affordable Cellulosic Ethanol." Nature Reviews: Genetic(2008). BIOSIS Previews. 15 July 2008.