They modify a bacteria so that it “eats” polluting gases and generates vinegar

As greenhouse gases wreak havoc around the world, decarbonization is a process that urgently needs to be accelerated. Reducing our emissions – mainly carbon dioxide – into the atmosphere is vital in the fight against global warming.

To achieve the long-awaited carbon neutrality, the involvement of the whole of society, government, businesses and individuals is necessary; as well as initiatives that promote innovation and sustainable development, such as the production of clean and renewable energy sources.

New technological developments related to carbon capture, utilization and storage also matter here. An area where originality and creativity are crucial and give reason to be positive about solutions like the ones below.

We are referring in particular to the creativity of Danish researchers who, through their startup Again Bio, have genetically modified a bacteria so that it is capable of feeding on exhaust gases and producing vinegar.

The key to this bacteria is that it is able to transform waste into products that can be useful for subsequent production. In this case, industrial combustion gases are consumed.

Specifically, the pilot project involves flue gases from a wastewater treatment plant, but it could be any type of combustion gases, including those generated by a car equipped with a gasoline or diesel engine.

On the other hand, bacteria waste is useful. This is because the excreted by-product is vinegar. It’s not that we’re big fans of vinegar, but there’s no denying that it plays a role in the production of different materials and products.

In this case, the startup Again Bio refines vinegar into acetic acid and acetate, which are chemicals commonly used for the production of detergents, textiles, pharmaceuticals and paints.

The whole process It is produced within a “bioreactor” which produces the ideal conditions for bacteria habitability, which is a “tube” approximately 20 meters high with optimal humidity and temperature conditions.

What is curious about all this is that this company captures carbon for free, since its profit is based on the marketing of products generated by the bacteria.

Even though their first installation in Copenhagen was small, it allowed them to obtain financing from European investment funds and to have concluded an agreement with an international company, which will allow them to concentrate on the installation and deployment of their gas processing plants.

Regardless, with their first test facility up and running, they have already been able to obtain production “with commercially viable yields” .

The key to the bacteria that consume exhaust fumes and generate vinegar lies in genetic modification. The bacteria is adapted to consume a product and generate a specific by-product. This is very reminiscent of the bacteria that consume discarded electric car batteries and excrete lithium.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are testing bacteria through a bioengineering process that could solve the problem of recovering metals from electric car batteries.

We could say it differently, but the truth is that the role of bacteria in all this is precisely that after consuming the battery, their excrement is its metals.

And although lithium is the main element to consider because it is essential to any battery, there are also other important metals like cobalt, manganese or nickel, which are recovered through this process.

Before all this, the battery is transformed into a sort of dissolved liquid amalgam that these bacteria feed on.

As we see, if experiments continue with bacteria, they could become key agents in decarbonization.