The big challenge of our time--more energy with a smaller environmental footprint--is leading to interesting intersections between biochemistry and energy production.
The January 10 issue of Nature inclues a riviting paper, Crude-Oil Biogdegradation via Methanogenesis in Subsruface Petroleum Reservoirs, that describes a process for using microbes to turn tar sands into methane with a hydrogen byproduct. With a large percentage of the planets oil trapped in low grade deposits, this could be a big deal.
Almost 30 years ago, I was contemplating a job in the oil shale fields of western Colorado. The plan was to drill thousands of deep wells, inject steam and capture a trickle of oil that resulted. At $20/barrel this didn't make much sense, but with oil prizes over $100/barrel, oil shale and tar sands are looking more attractive.
The need for clean and affordable energy is driving a bio-energy revolution. Prizes may help focus attention and investment.
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