Deep in the jungles of Patagonia Gary Strobel of Montana St University has found a fungus which produces a type of diesel which could hold great promise for the world of fuel devlopement. By synthesizing plant material to the later stage diesel product it essentially skips the chemical intenisves stages of diesel production. It could be a fascinating find for the energy world.

A team led by a Montana State University professor has found a fungus that produces a new type of diesel fuel, which they say holds great promise.

Calling the fungus’ output “myco-diesel,” Gary Strobel and his collaborators describe their initial observations in the November issue of Microbiology, which carries a photo of the fungus on its cover.

The discovery may offer an alternative to fossil fuels, said Strobel, MSU professor of plant sciences and plant pathology. The find is even bigger, he said, than his 1993 discovery of fungus that contained the anticancer drug taxol.

“The broader question is, what is responsible for the production of these compounds,” Scott Strobel said. “If you can identify that, you can hopefully scale it up so you end up with better efficiency of production.”

Scott Strobel said he agrees with his father that the discovery is exciting.

There’s nothing in the scientific literature about a microbe that produces the diversity of medium-chain hydrocarbons found in the Gliocladium roseum, he said. Longer hydrocarbon chains are common, but “that’s not what you put in your gas tank or jet engine.”

Another promising aspect is that the fungus can grow in cellulose.

“That’s the most common organic molecule on earth,” Scott Strobel said. “It’s all around us, everywhere.”

Scientists in a variety of disciplines should be able to work together to optimize production and find a way to turn what is essentially a vapor into a burnable, liquid fuel, he added.

Top left: Colorized environmental scanning electron microscope photo of Gliocladium roseum, an endophtic fungus that produces myco-diesel hydrocarbons.
Top right: Culture plate of Gliocladium roseum, an endophtic fungus that produces myco-diesel hydrocarbons.

The almost daily rising cost of diesel fuel has spurred the utility company in Kodiak Alaska to order up more wind turbines to provide electricity to its customers. They already have some wind power in their system but it now makes sesne to proactively add more with energy costs skyrocketing for municipal utilities.

From AP:

Kodiak utility to add 3rd wind generator

Kodiak’s electric utility will expand its plans to incorporate wind as a power generator in response to the high cost of diesel.

Kodiak Electric Association board members voted last week to buy a third wind generator during the evaluation phase of their Pillar Mountain wind power project.

“With the price of fuel going where it’s going, the added generation is a good thing for our community,” said KEA president and chief executive Darron Scott.

It makes sense to purchase a third wind generator now instead of waiting because it’s likely to be more expensive later, Scott said.

“We feel the added generation is a cost benefit back to the community due to the cost of diesel,” Scott said.