Herein a seemingly new approach to coal extraction and Carbon Dioxide recycling - through the use of microbes.
We submit this not only because it mentions CO2 recycling, but because it mentions the use of "bugs" to break down coal. The concept is at least thirty years old. Back in the mid-1970's, while a WVU Geology grad student, roughly coincident with his joining the UMWA, Joe worked on what was presumed to be a Federally-sponsored research project, coordinated by one of our national laboratories (specific one long forgotten), to identify microbial species, and to qualify/quantify their effect on organic and inorganic compounds, in coal mine waste accumulations and their effluents.
He says he interpreted the work as preliminary to developing biological systems for both the amelioration of waste, and the extraction of residual organic fuel values. Melissa
Some excerpts:
"Craig Venter, the controversial American scientist who helped decode the human genome, has announced the discovery of ancient bacteria that can turn coal into methane, suggesting they may help to solve the world’s energy crisis."
"The bugs, discovered a mile underground by one of Venter’s microbial prospecting teams, are said to have unique enzymes that can break down coal. Venter said he was already working with BP on how to exploit the find."
Venter is also developing some other wonder bugs:
“We see CO2 as raw material. We have been engineering cells to use CO2 driven by sunlight to make biopolymers, methane and sugars."
“One of the most exciting breakthroughs is that we have engineered algal cells to pump out lipids in a pure form into the growing medium. You can literally skim the cream off the top and isolate it like a biocrude and we are not too far away from scaling this up on a very substantial scale."
