Some companies offer CNG-based cars that have an integrated CNG tank in the car, in the place of the regular gas tank, and instead of the strap-in tank shown above.
Posted on 10/15/2007 1:06:18 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
Who knew that tiny bugs deep underground are burping out natural gas, even at this very moment?
Three years ago, Luca Technologies, a start-up in Golden, Colo., discovered that microorganisms in U.S. coal fields are converting--in real time--large hydrocarbon molecules into methane, a natural gas. The obvious entrepreneurial reaction? Harness those "bugs" and put them to work producing natural gas in underutilized oil and coal fields, decided Luca Technologies Chief Executive Robert Pfeiffer.
Now some big backers are betting that Luca’s technology will pay off. In late September, Pfeiffer raised a combined $20 million in venture funding in a Series B round led by superstar Silicon Valley venture firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with participation from Oxford Bioscience Partners and BASF Venture Capital America, an arm of German chemicals giant BASF (other-otc: BASFY). The latter firm invested $3 million in Luca last year. Ray Lane, managing partner at Kleiner Perkins, is joining Luca’s board, as is Michael R. Pavia, entrepreneur-in-residence at Oxford Bioscience Partners. The investment is one of the first Oxford Bioscience has made outside the life science and health care arena.
Prior to founding Luca, Pfeiffer and colleagues were working for a small company called Preston Reynolds that was extracting natural gas at Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the largest source of coal mined in the U.S. To their surprise, they noticed that the miners at the site were finding significantly greater quantities of natural gas than is typical in coal deposits. “We could not understand where all this natural gas was coming from,” says Pfeiffer. “Generally gas and oil are jammed into a rock. You put a well bore into it … and the gas coming off the [coal] seams is harder to extract.” But the Powder River coal field seemed more like a river of natural gas rather than a lake. “It had a real-time operation,” he recalls.
Pfeiffer and his Preston Reynolds colleagues had the Powder River Basin coal tested and discovered that indeed, this wasn’t ancient, trapped natural gas, but newly produced methane. Anaerobic microbes--bacteria that live without oxygen--were generating the methane. Luca dubbed these microbes “geobioreactors.”
Luca hasn’t yet determined how many bugs it takes to produce gas. Although it's likely to take quite a large herd, Pfeiffer believes that harnessing these geobioreactors properly could offer a long-term solution to U.S. energy needs. “So many renewable [energy solutions] require a complete change of infrastructure. Here the same well bores could be used” to mine for natural gas instead of coal or oil, he says.
Since that initial discovery in Wyoming, Pfeiffer says they’ve found these microorganisms in other fields around the U.S., namely in old oil fields, other coal fields and organic rich shale fields. His scientists are working on a process to grow more microorganisms as well as alter their metabolism to produce even more methane.
It’s still in its early days. The latest venture round will help Luca refine its technology. Pfeiffer hopes to start operating commercially in a couple years. Luca is already working with an oil and gas company (which Pfeiffer won’t name) using the new technology, on a research basis. Pfeiffer plans for Luca to be an owner or in a joint venture in its activities. “We don’t want to just sell services,” he says.
The funding from Kleiner Perkins--which is not yet posted on Kleiner’s Web site--is part of the venture firm’s more recent focus on green technology. Kleiner Perkins launched a $100 million Greentech fund last year, and has put money into a variety of start-ups, including companies working on next generation solar panels, new types of biofuels and miniature fuel cells.
Luca also happens to be riding a wave of investment in alternative energy technologies. The company says methane is the least polluting and most energy efficient of available hydrocarbon fuels. And others are pursuing similar veins of research: In particular, BP (nyse: BP) and Synthetic Genomics, a company run by J. Craig Venter (famed for his work on decoding the human genome) are collaborating on a study of naturally occurring organisms that live in oil, natural gas, coal and other underground hydrocarbon formations.
With luck, Pfeiffer says his bugs will be spewing out gas sooner than the Brits.
THings that make you go “Hmmmmmmmn....”
But, of course, the price for carbon pooping bugs remains unknown in Gore’s carbon-offset schemes remains unknown.
Then again, these are “natural” bugs (so far) and thus might not qualify for carbon offsets.
Upsets.
Insets?
LOL! bfl
prisoner6
pflr
How soon before PETA shows up at the doorstep of this place claiming the bugs are being exploited?
Only true for electricity generation (NOT transportation, which is where we have the problem)---nor is making natural gas from coal a "green" technology. It's still a fossil fuel. All this boils down to is a biological substitute for gasification. Neat technology, though.
ping for later...
10-12 years ago on a late night drive I listened to an interview with a Russian Geologist that was floating that exact theory. A year or so later I heard he was murdered in Moscow.
Some companies offer CNG-based cars that have an integrated CNG tank in the car, in the place of the regular gas tank, and instead of the strap-in tank shown above.
![](http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:R8sR7daexSBGmM:www.ted-kyte.com/3D/Pictures/Spark%2520Plug.jpg";)
Rest In Peace, old friend, your work is finished.......If you want on or off the DIESEL ”KnOcK” LIST just FReepmail me........
This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days......
“How soon before PETA shows up at the doorstep of this place claiming the bugs are being exploited?”
Would`nt surprise me if they did.
“PETA Now Defending Cockroaches”
http://www.alphecca.com/mt_alphecca_archives/002703.html
I think prisoner6 has nailed it.
For 40+ years as a mechanical engineer, I fought to write the word "valve" in some way so that it would not come out "value" in the final report. Sometimes nearly made me "loose" my mind. LOL.
And worse, spell check won’t find it.
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