How cows may be key to ‘sustainable,renewable’ fuel

The discovery and application of the enzymes could release untapped energy in waste plant products to make fuel.

The study is being carried out by ARK-Genomics at Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute,life sciences company Ingenza and Professor John Wallace from the Rowett Institute in Aberdeen.

Humans cannot digest the tough material,which makes up plants and trees but Ingenza and Prof Wallace said they expected to identify the enzymes in ruminants,which allow for the breakdown of these structures.

The scientists said the resulting chemical reactions could be used to create sustainable alternatives to petrochemical-derived products such as fuel,commodity chemicals and fine chemicals.

“People have been trying to unlock the energy in plant and tree matter for years but our approach recognises how nature has already successfully done it,” BBC quoted Dr Ian Fotheringham,president of Ingenza,as saying.

“If we can identify novel enzymes that allow ruminants to break down these tough structures,and then replicate them on a large scale,the possibilities for more sustainable and renewable industrial practices are enormous,” he added.