Scientists from Mississippi State University have discovered that panda poo could hold the answers to faster, cleaner and cheaper biofuels.

It has long been suspected that animals like pandas that each giant amounts of tough plant matter every day have bacteria in their digestive systems that are especially efficient at breaking down the cellulose in plants into nutrients. The hope is that those bacteria could make a big difference in the production of biofuels from tougher, non-food plants, like switchgrass, corn stalks and wood chips.  After collecting panda feces from the Memphis Zoo for over a year, researchers found that was definitely the case.

So far the scientists have identified several types of digestive bacteria from the feces. Some are similar to those found in termite feces, but the study has shown the bacteria in the panda feces could be even better at breaking down cellulose than those in termites.

Based on this study and others, the researchers believe that the panda gut bacteria could convert 95 percent of plant biomass into simple sugars.  The enzymes in this bacteria are so potent that they can eliminate the need for heat, acids or high pressure processes in the manufacture of biofuels. Eliminating those processes would make biofuel production less energy intensive, faster and, of course, cheaper.

Researchers are working on identifying every bacteria present in panda intestines in order to single out the most potent of the enzymes.  Those enzymes could be put into yeasts through genetic engineering, which would allow for the mass production of those enzymes for the biofuel industry.

via Physorg

Studies by researchers at Michigan State University indicate that using grasslands can be useful for biofuel stock as well as helping protect bird species.

Much of the current domestic ethanol production is corn based, although there are numerous criticisms against this approach. Cellulosic methods such as using prairie grasses for ethanol production do not produce 'food-or-fuel' conflicts, and can be equal or better yielding feedstocks for the process than corn or sugar. And, according to MSU biologist Bruce Robertson, using grasslands to produce biofuel feedstock would also provide habitat for a more diverse population of birds.

"Robertson and colleagues found that bugs and the birds that feed on them thrive more in mixed prairie grasses than in corn. Almost twice as many species made their homes in grasses, while plots of switchgrass, a federally designated model fuel crop, fell between the two in their ability to sustain biodiversity."

Converting even more land over to undifferentiated monoculture crops for biofuel is likely to be a short-sighted decision, and could lead to further decline of bird species. Developing methods to make fuel by using diverse grasslands could be doubly beneficial, aiding the protection of bird species as well as providing a more carbon sensitive alternative for producing fuel.

image: Matt Sileo/MSU

via: MSU News