At last! A use for the modern newspaper! For society’s benefit!
In what sounds like a scenario out of your dream horror flick, imagine Blatchford, Will, Noonan, Wente, Kay ink devoured by bacteria, never to serve their right-wing masters again. Watch as their tattered paper remains turn into something useful for society and not just for their patrons.
Tulane University scientists have discovered a strain of bacteria capable of turning old newspaper into butanol. Better yet, the newly-discovered bacteria is capable of doing so in the presence of oxygen, something other strains of cellulose-eating bacteria are not.
To be precise, the bacteria is the first to convert the cellulose found in old newspapers directly into butanol, which can then be used to fuel vehicles or create a gasoline/butanol blend. Since the research is still in its infancy, we won’t be seeing any “brew it yourself” butanol kits on the market just yet.
Cross posted at Let Freedom Rain.