A tree fungus could provide green fuel that can be pumped directly into tanks, scientists say. The organism, from the Patagonian rainforest, produces a mixture of chemicals that is remarkably similar to diesel fuel.
The fungus, called Gliocladium roseum and discovered growing inside the ulmo tree (Eucryphia cordifolia) in northern Patagonia, produces a range of molecules that are almost identical to the fuel-grade compounds in existing fossil fuels such as diesel fuel.
Gary Strobel, from Montana State University, has been leading the work."This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances,", he said. "We were totally surprised to learn that it was making a plethora of hydrocarbons."
If they can be proven to work on a mass-scale, then biofuels will be attractive replacements for unleaded petrol and diesel fuels. The European Union has set biofuel targets of 5.75% of total usage by 2010 and 10% by 2020. But critics say current biofuels scarcely reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cause food price rises and deforestation, as farmers knock down trees and remove food crops to plant biofuel crops. Producing biofuels sustainably is now a target and this latest work has been greeted by experts as an encouraging step.
Details of the concoction, which Strobel calls "mycodiesel", will be published in the November issue of the journal MicroBiology - "The results were totally unexpected and very exciting and almost every hair on my arms stood on end," said Strobel.
This report was compiled by Justin Woodcock on behalf of Find-a-Part - Car Parts Search specialists since 1978.
