ACCORDING TO JENNIFER CHU'S article in MIT's Technology Review, a start-up bio-tech company called Zymetis, is testing genetically modified bacteria that efficiently convert biomass into sugar. They may be on to something.
Zymetis has genetically modified a rare, cellulose-eating bacterium to break down and convert cellulose into sugars necessary to make ethanol, and it recently completed its first commercial-scale trial. Earlier this year, the company ran the modified microbe through a series of tests in large fermenters and found that it was able to convert one ton of cellulosic plant fiber into sugar in 72 hours.
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