In Delaware, research emerging from two labs at the University of Delaware and their collaborators at White Dog Labs in New Castle drives the work now featured in a new article in Nature Communications.
Unlike that barley soda, which sparkles with little bubbles of escaping carbon dioxide, the product these researchers are delivering – acetone – comes with near-zero carbon emissions. Researchers have identified a promising blend of bacteria and synthesis gas that, in laboratory tests, is producing much more acetone than other methods while avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions dilemma. The acetone is a proof-of-concept project with value of its own, but it also could lead to significant advances in the quest to produce biofuels.