Biofuels and bioprospecting for beginners - Craig A. Kohn

[@SirChrisse]

The animation and music on this one were wonderful.

[@suntzu2102]

THIS CHANNEL DESERVES AN OSCAR FOR ANIMATION

[@authenticwarrior7877]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJm1gomCdtyYf9E

[@saraolt]

I like this, it wasn't about "were killing he earth!!", it was "here's a POSSIBLE solution, but don't get crazy".

[@SpeedofLife111]

Since termites are excellent at eating through wood, it would be useful to alter some of their genetic code to increase the amount of cellulase they produce. Or they could use E. coli since it has a wide application in genetic research already, their genome sequence can be altered in such a way to code for the cellulase-producing gene. This is possible but the effect of GMO on the environment must be taken into consideration.

[@ckdraws410]

If the genetically modified E. Coli is being used to break down cellulose for biofuel production, it will likely only be present in a biofuel production facility and therefore lack an environmental impact. However, if precautions are not taken, some of the bacteria could escape and possibly outcompete other E. Coli strains and different bacteria species that naturally produce cellulase

[@buakaw]

This is why science gives me hope for the future. Awesome video

[@JIEUN84]

If researchers find microbes that can produce cellulase enzymes, we might get more eco-friendly energy. I hope so.

[@oneplusoneiseleven]

The animation and narrator deserve an award 😎

[@trunkki]

The animation in this video was beautiful!

[@Firesoar13]

This is very interesting. It is similar to how Sake is made. They use a fungi called Kojoi to break apart the complex starches so there is more simple sugars available for when the yeast is added. It use to be done by mouth milling the grains where the enzymes in the saliva spat out with the grains would break it down and the natural yeasts in the pot and in the saliva would ferment it. Would it not be possible to make a synthetic enzyme? Perhaps one that is more efficient.

[@hussainamurtaza6231]

I'm a biologist and it helped me so much

[@mariemac5347]

This has helped me so much with my biology revision... thanks a lot 👍🏻😊

[@Thoran666]

Nicely explained. Great Animations, I like the high detail cartoon look.

[@beegum1]

This video actually isn't too bad, I don't want to attack it too harshly. It opens the way for traditional problem solving. We set a target and work toward it in a patchwork of technological improvements, moralish cultural changes, and, when necessary, government regulation. Military advances actually help illustrate the method more clearly. You don't stop the whole military or fighter jet research just to get a death ray, unless completely necessary... and likely not even then.

[@soangry]

It doesn't have to be trees. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants, with some species growing up to 35 inches a day.

[@Antenox]

If you think about it, using cellulose IS using solar energy, because plants are basically small solar collectors. Just think of plants as batteries for solar power. They use nutrients in the soil, along with water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and sunlight to grow. Then, when we break their cellulose down into ethanol to burn, we're basically releasing the stored solar energy.

[@himanshusharma26june]

Brilliantly explained

[@authenticwarrior7877]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJm1gomCdtyYf9E

[@BitcoinIsGoingToZero]

I cant wait to start creating my own biofuels haha!

[@soangry]

True, corn grain isn't that good, sugarcane on the other hand isn't that bad. Thank the corn lobbyists for the reason we're using it over sugarcane. If we can get the cellulose fuel from the video working it'll be great. Economization is very useful of course, but we need to do everything we can. Biofuel reduces our need for oil and produce less greenhouse gasses, solar and wind reduces our need for coal and oil. Every little bit helps.

[@soangry]

burning cellulose directly produces much more greenhouse gasses than converting it to biofuel. Most newer cars can run on biofuel, some older cars can also be converted. Most newer cars also have much better gas mileage thus reducing the amount of fuel you use. Gasoline engines are a heat engine. Now if you're talking something like the stirling engine, they don't scale well to full size, high torque applications. Boilers are only efficient and low emission if they're attached to a gas turbine.

[@soangry]

Cellulose based means all plants. Some species of bamboo grow up to 35 inches a day. We don't have the technology yet to completely switch to solar. Biofuel provides a good stopgap solution until the time we can switch to something better.

[@Armbreakfire]

This is pretty awesome!

[@soangry]

solar and wind aren't constant power. Until battery storage technology improves they can't be used as our main source of power. Their constant fluctuations also play hell with the power grid. Geothermal can only be used in places where magma comes very close to the surface, also geothermal wells produce a small amount of greenhouse gasses. Don't get me wrong, they're all great additions. They just can't do everything yet.

[@Aresftfun]

C6H10O5-Cellulose- remove the Carbon and you've got a perfect Hydrogen-Oxygen explosion ratio. I really hope that's what the bacteria do. If not the process and idea needs a bit of fine-tuning, I believe.

[@nitikasharma4630]

Thanks for this useful video 😊

[@soangry]

I think he meant full electricity "in the future" where hopefully solar and battery technology has improved. In the mean time it doesn't hurt to use as many alternate sources of energy we can to lessen the need for oil and coal.

[@soangry]

Solar panels are rapidly dropping in cost and rising in efficiency. Sure they can't replace oil yet, but they can help reduce our oil usage and lower greenhouse gasses.

[@blenderworks5559]

Glucose as an energy source? Does that mean we'll perform "cell respiration" in our cars? Does that mean we'll have mitochondria in our cars, and synthetic livers to store glycogen or something? That would be so cool.

[@jannikheidemann3805]

We can use ethanol, which is made by yeast from the glucose and have it be distilled. Thats what we then fill into our cars, ships and aircraft. It's 96% plain old drinking alcohol, it explodes when mixed with air in the right proportions and ignited by a spark inside of a regular combustion engine, which converts explosions into rotation. Also works in turbines.

[@craigkohn]

The conditions are not hard to re-create at all - in fact you can easily do this with a water jug and a hot water bath. It's getting the microbial populations to survive that is incredibly tricky. A weird reality of science is that most microbes that grow in a huge variety of conditions tend to do very poorly in artificial environments like a lab or industrial setting. Bioprospecting is likely only part of the story - genetic engineering will likely play a large role as well.

[@soangry]

Yes the earth goes through cycles, and sometimes major volcanic or meteoric events wipe out large portions of life. The problem is that the earth is currently heating up much faster than the current cycle should and this sudden heat spike started at mankind's industrial age. We are adding our emissions on top of earth's natural emissions.

[@CodyCzar1]

Ok, this just got Bill Nye good. Plz more vids like this. :)

[@tavobenne]

thanks mate but i know exactly what a generator is and how it works... but cheers for the super condescending reply! did you even read the comment that i was replying to?? in case you didn't the guy said "personally i think full on electric power without the use of any fuels is the way to go". this shows a real lack of understanding of electricity and i was trying to remind the guy that electricity doesn't just come from thin air it requires the burning of fuel.

[@6u6u7o]

Did you guys know that for thousands of years nothing on Earth could digest cellulose? Millions of plants and trees accumulated on top of each other never to be rotten. Isn't that amazing?

[@RobinHarling]

Who needs school when you have TED?

[@muhammadnaveedishaquebibi6659]

Nobody

[@SamFB964]

your not wrong

[@soangry]

It reduces the amount because burning biofuel means we're not burning petroleum. Biofuel produces much less co2 than petroleum.

[@RamandikaPutra]

I look this is great! can i use this video to reupload and remake for the educational content?

[@HeirOfGlee]

Take money out of politics and put the scientist and teachers in office. We need this for our future

[@huyked]

Why use renewable when you can get solar, wind, geothermal energy?

[@nyanimation07]

They are renewable...

[@huyked]

@@nyanimation07 I hope you realize my point.

[@nyanimation07]

@@huykedwdym? the one you listed are renewable energy tho

[@huyked]

@@nyanimation07 Hahahaha! I stand corrected. I didn't know renewable meant this: "First, let’s start out by defining that a renewable source is any source of energy that is able to replenish naturally on a human timescale. This means that solar energy is a renewable resource because it will not run out or be in short supply. " I thought it meant something regrown and had intensive processing to get something out of it, unlike just collecting it. My bad. I learned something new. :) Edit:. I was also thinking. How the heck do you renew the sun/wind/geothermal? xD

[@nyanimation07]

@@huyked lmfao well yeah, the more you knowwww . i had thought you knew now cuz it's been 8 years since you made this comment :>. other than that you seem well informed. have a nice day

[@soangry]

Google is your friend. Just from a quick check, biodiesel and sugarcane biofuel both produce much less emissions than petroleum. Not drilling for oil also reduces environmental pollution on that end too. It's good to be skeptical of everything, but do a bit of your own research at least.

[@SensibleMinded]

did you even watch the video? because that was discussed in the video as not the solution for the very issue you pointed out, the video was about finding alternatives to biofuels...

[@codyfindlay3653]

I liked this because it had light sabers in it.

[@ritasrimustikasari]

Let's find species in nature that can produce valuable products #bioprospecting.

[@mawada-ju6ux]

أحببت الترجمة العربية ❤️

[@TheAdekrijger]

Yes but nature captures the green house gases it emits but it has drouble handling extra.

[@AESir420]

You know what plant would be best for this use? Hemp. Henry Ford knew about a hundred years ago that cannabis is the world's most useful plant.

[@nigelmckee3058]

I think global warming is pretty pressing. There are a lot more consequences than there first appears - for example, the acidification of the oceans leading to the total loss of entire coral ecosystems, warmer water leading to less dissolved oxygen to support all ocean ecosystems, and the total loss or severe change in entire biomes. But what environmental issues did you have in mind?

[@GayFroge]

By those, I meant solar panels/ other sources of energy*

[@sophier1399]

Sounds pretty awesome!

[@S0vereignX]

worth a shot, either way the use of fossil fuels needs to be drastically depleted or eliminated outright far ahead of time before it completely runs out and there we are sitting around without a solution. personally i think full on electric power without the use of any fuels is the way to go, though even that has some issues to be solves. but what scientific discovery or great advancement ever came for free

[@GayFroge]

It's not as though they're only promoting biofuels, they've made videos about those in the future. It would be LESS educational if they didn't include this. Also, they clearly stated that instead of using corn or other foods, it could be done with cellulose, which is found in all plants, edible or otherwise. Also solar energy (at the moment) is very inefficient, this is just another POSSIBLE source of energy.

[@rigginsda]

Biofuels are better than fossil fuels because they are renewable, but burning ethanol still produces CO2, so any carbon dioxide we sequester, is rereleased into the atmosphere. To me, biofuels represent a intermediate and not final solution. We still need to work on other forms of energy production that don't produce CO2 waste.

[@nigelmckee3058]

Actually, not 100% of the carbon the plant takes in is stored as biomass, and then not 100% of it's biomass is converted to glucose, and not 100% of it is fermented into ethanol. Plants loose biomass all the time - leaves, deadfall etc - this carbon ends up either in the soil, or is added into the ecosystem - carbon stores. In this way, using plants as a fuel source actually could reduce the amount of CO2 in the air.

[@soangry]

Their starvation isn't from a lack of food being produced in other countries. It has more to do with who's going to pay the cost of shipping enough food to them and the political problems in those regions. For example, local warlords hoarding the donated food.

[@Catalistic]

Wish I watch this video a few semester ago when I got my college assignment about this

[@Alexman208GR]

Indeed you are right, I though he implied that these actually were the solutions.

[@late_arvie]

That mushroom is so so metal

[@Alexman208GR]

Indeed every little helps but I honestly believe that with proper economization the amount of energy we use to "fuel" the humanity would drop at least 99%. The majority of the oil burned is burned to make new over expensive cars and stupid iphones.

[@ryobie1]

Fossil fuel is not the largest contributor. That's a lie! It's the agriculture industry with cows, chickens and pigs. Including the land resources it takes to grow the food for the animals. Fossil fuel's around 16% Ag is around 40%

[@EmilyonAndromeda]

Greatest contributor to what?

[@Eric_Pham]

nunyabiz nunya no your statement is a lie, fossil fuels has contributed more to pollution and global warming than agriculture

[@SamFB964]

​@@Eric_Pham you r wrong

[@Eric_Pham]

​@@SamFB964 Bit late to party but as I am now 5 years older and wiser, I can say that fossil fuels still are the leading contributor but agriculture causes 18-25% of air pollution, not to mention the other types of pollution it causes, nothing to scoff at. Taking on the problem of fossil fuel and agricultural pollution is necessary for fighting climate change.

[@AnubhawTiwari-w3b]

Can we watch these in hindi language 😊 plz if possible..... reply sir

[@Alexman208GR]

Indeed, maybe in the future they could be viable but right now the total amount of oil used to make the panels (not only the panels but the factories too and the collection of the building materials) is so high that its not worth it. Right now they are not viable at all, and I think not soon either. They have long way to go. Unfortunately peoples greed is so high that even if the solar panels were viable the "elites" would stop the production, there is too much money to make with oil. :(

[@GrIM99913]

what about electricity?

[@HosamSultan]

Awesome introduction to this field... Don't know why, but i feel there is some scientific error in the illustrations...

[@xapemanx]

if the fuel is stored and not burned it could net a reduction of atmospheric carbon. If environmentalists want to prevent CO2 emissions effectively they have to find a way to keep it in the ground.... =P

[@soangry]

We've also taken core samples from the world's oldest trees and glaciers going back thousands of years. Those samples agree with the rest of the data that the world has been heating much more rapidly since mankind's industrial age. This is exactly why the scientific community is so scared. In the insignificant time we've been here we've managed to royally screw our ability to continue living here.

[@TekamsTheOne]

Nice point

[@Utspeladfz]

Did you even watch the whole video before making that comment? He clearly states exactly what you just said..

[@klyde338Lapua]

As co2, witch they breath and scrub from the air.

[@jerobarraco]

Honestly? I had faith in ted since now. We're promoting the use of possible food to keep using combustible for powering our machines? Why not solar energy or other source of energy?

[@YoozYoNaym]

That mushroom is so metal

[@soangry]

Google it, There are reputable scientific studies showing biofuel does produce less emissions than petroleum.

[@soangry]

I see what you're doing, but it won't work. Even if they do grow hemp, it wouldn't mean they'd also grow the THC producing variant. Besides, many plants such as bamboo grow much faster.

[@nigelmckee3058]

good video, a very basic introduction to the field. My only real criticism is i would have preferred more animation, or perhaps more varied animation in the narration. Very repetitive =/ :D

[@tavobenne]

the question however is how do you create the electricity? atm the majority of our electricity is created through the burning of fossil fuels.

[@TekamsTheOne]

But what about deforestation???

[@musikSkool]

Why not a heat engine that just burns cellulose made into charcoal? Char-grass? We have the Engineering for it. Most cars can't run bio-fuels anyway, so making everyone buy a new engine, why not change to a heat engine and cut out the chemistry altogether?

[@xapemanx]

burning biofules releases carbon dioxide too... so why not just store the biofules and not burn them? wouldn't this remove carbon from the atmosphere? just like how fossil fuels are storing carbon. wouldn't that net the same effect? what happens to water when biofules spill? is it dangerous does it contaminate like fossil fuels?

[@nyxine33]

I found the newest comments to be from a year ago, so here I am! Hello

[@soangry]

Use fast growing plants like bamboo.

[@gabe3889]

burn bio fuels... Have you ever seen a hand charged radio that has a crank on it? You spin an axle to create a charge. This is how your gas generator, the alternator in your car, and power plants work. Just change how you turn the crank. Power plants use their fuel to boil water which turns an crank as it expands. Like a steam train. (but more efficient) So picture a steam train attached to your radio's hand crank. You can boil the water with anything. You don't need fossil fuel.

[@Rowena97x]

i fear it is too late

[@Alexman208GR]

My bad. If you remove the word bullshit, then my comment will make more sense. I kinda misunderstood the general meaning and though he implied that these were the solutions.

[@Herlinkle]

Or take the money out of war.

[@soangry]

Please read some research from real scientists who actually have degrees in climate study. The earth is currently heating up much faster than the normal geological cycle. This heat spike just so happens to coincide with our industrial age. As the planet warms it pushes weather patterns away from their usual areas. The hotter heat fronts push the cold fronts farther away. So yes it is going to get temporarily colder in the places these cold fronts moved to.

[@TofuInc]

With bio fuels like ethanol the carbon cycle in short, cellulose is grown turned into fuel and burned rather quickly. If produced without fossil fuels the cycle is carbon neutral. Energy has to come from somewhere so simply storing it isn't productive. If we switch to ethanol then we stop producing carbon dioxide and then can work on bringing carbon levels down. This is a step not a solution.

[@Fokeno]

KOOOOHHNN!!!!

[@eliochristofori531]

Sehr informativ

[@pennymac16]

Too bad cellulose is not too far away from being a fossil fuel itself. This won't do any good in the long term since we would get to chopping down even more forests than we already are.

[@nigelmckee3058]

No need to be vulgar mate. He could be misinformed or delusional, (or there's an incredibly small, barely existent chance that he is actually right) it doesn't necessarily mean he's an idiot - and even if he is, where is calling him one going to get us?

[@Alexman208GR]

How is electricity made to begin with? Solar panels? They are very energy expensive to make and need to be functioning many years to pay of their production. Wind power? They are kinda costly too. Also the transportation of electricity is very costly. So you cant have power plants in, lets say, Africa and transport it all over the world, its just impossible. Electricity will work fine if you are economizing. But our society is way too consuming and electricity can't provide enough energy.

[@isgdre]

This guy would have more credibility if he didn't contradict himself.

[@Karkenou]

So how much money is this going to cost the average american when they pay their taxes?

[@Alexman208GR]

Bullshit. Right now transforming corn grain to usable ethanol is so energy intensive that its better to use oil. Until there is a way to transform plants to usable ethanol with very low energy cost (energy = oil, right now) we will have to stick to oil. Also establishing the huge amount of equipment needed to create enough ethanol to replace oil needs so much energy that it might be not feasible. IMO economization is the answer, no extensive consumption no problem!

[@timsonchin]

This can NEVER reduce the amount of CO2 in the air. What a dumb thing to claim. The animation at 1:40 is WRONG. Plants do not pump CO2 into the ground. They absorb a certain amount of CO2, which they use for growth. If you then jam the plant in your car and burn it as fuel, you re-emit the CO2. The best you can hope for is that this does not increase the amount of CO2 in the air... And that's very optimistic.

[@jerobarraco]

Wtf is he talking about, why not biomass?

[@danielkol]

"We've got"? Was this written by a 10 year old?