Fuel for cars could be created from naturally-occurring fatty acids.
Researchers from the Univeristy of Manchester and the University of Turku in Finland have demonstrated the use of synthetic biology can manipulate hydrocarbon chemicals to create fuels from fatty acids.
The research involved creating a chemical reaction that, in essence, hijacks naturally-existing fatty acids and re-directs the fatty molecules into producing ready-to-use fuel and household chemicals.
The latest science could have major implications in the use of sustainable sources to create renewable energy, resulting in more innovative ways of sourcing fuel from natural resources.
Acording to the research, the process creating an end-product fuel or chemical progresses recent developments in synthesising aliphatic hydrocarbons by stimulating microbes to produce and store excess fatty acids. However, the next stage, to reach the end result, requires finding a suitable catalyst to further convert the fatty acids into aldehydes used as fuels or chemicals.
According to the paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS the two university teams collaborated to identify a catalyst created from Mycobacterium marinum which works well on converting a wide range of the important aliphatic fatty acids.