Bioenergy Production: Opportunities for Microorganisms (Part I)

Abstract

The overconsumption of the non-renewable sources of energy has caused ecological imbalance and this has paved the way for the utilization of the renewable energy sources. Sustainable energy sources include solar energy, plant or forest biomass, tidal and wind energy. Renewable sources of energy are traditional, conventional, or new. Production of eco-friendly energy sources is now in high demand. The task for the production of sustainable energy can be overtook by a wide variety of microbes. A wide variety of microorganisms encompass the potential of biofuel production, for example, many bacteria can directly produce ethanol by sugar degradation. Microalgae and cyanobacteria can reduce CO2 to biofuels by photosynthesis. Methanotrophs can produce methanol by oxidizing methane. Geobacter sulfurreducens and Shewanella oneidensis can be used in the microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for bioelectricity and biohydrogen production. MFCs use catabolic function of microbes and generate electricity by using a wide variety of materials, for example, biomass. Recent research has shown that MFCs will be able to replace the non-renewable sources of energy and will produce electricity adequate for the consumption of human society.