In the recent study conducted by Audi, the German automaker proves that their synthetically-produced E-Fuel is at par, if not better than conventional bioethanol and biodiesel in terms of CO² emission and cleaner combustion.
Audi has started collaborating with US-based biotech firm Joule Unlimited in developing their E-Fuel back in 2011. Joule caught Audi’s attention when they successfully engineered a photosynthetic microorganism that emits ethanol and alkene; two important substances that makes up diesel fuel.
What’s great about these microorganisms is that they are rather low-maintenance. All they need is the right amount of sunlight, Carbon Dioxide and Water which doesn’t even have to be clean. This alone puts Audi’s e-Fuel a notch above biofuels which are little more costly to produce.
But not only is the e-Fuel is a more sustainable alternative, it’s also proven to have lesser CO² footprint compared to petroleum diesel because it doesn’t contain aromatics or sulfur.
All that’s left for Audi and Joule now is to refine the process of extracting the e-Fuel from the water where the microorganism thrives. After that, the e-Fuel should be well underway for mass production which, according to Audi, should take place “within the next five years”.
If Sunlight + Carbon Dioxied, this can be useful to Mars. Would like to see that in the future of humankind.
wew…in the next five years di na masyadong mataas ang demand dito considering na nagsisimula na ang panahon ng electric vehicles nung 2009-10…sana may makaimbento ng battery na mas maliit pero mas malaki ang capacity =)
Waste materials will become the most precious commodity in the future next to water…who controls waste materials, controls the world…so start saving your basura now…:-)
E.coli at yeast lang yan na hinahalo sa biodegradable materials like wood chips, corn stalks and cobs, etc. to ferment it and to produce ethanol…
Expect the Arabs and the Jews to want to shut this down.
This a very good alternative fuel. I just hope it will come as soon as possible.
Well how about the Filipino inventor who use water to run a car?
I can’t for this to be mass produced. The world needs clean sources of energy. The Philippines is suffering from massive air pollution due to vehicles which affects the health of commuters. Hopefully Audi and Joule will be able to pull this through.