Keith Addison wrote:
Both are carbohydrates.
Cellulose is a carbohydrate too, but separating it from its lignin
binder is not an easy task. Acid hydrolysis is the most common method
at this point, but I have papers buried in my files concerning an
ammonia / pressure process that broke lignin bonds, cellulose and
hemicellulose so that the resulting, simpler sugars could be worked on
by bacteria to produce hydrogen gas. I researched this process as a
potential method of hydrogen production while I was more enthusiastic
about hydrogen as an energy carrier than is characteristic of my
belief today.
In essence, the ammonia process involved a pressure tank loaded with
cellulose rich material (straw, for instance) that was filled with
ammonia and allowed to heat up until the pressure reached a certain
point (the value escapes me, sorry!) for about fifteen minutes.
Ammonia apparently penetrates lignin and plant sugars under pressure,
and when the pressure is suddenly released (by opening a ball valve)
the ammonia flashes from a liquid to a gas, and in doing so, bursts
the lignin and cellulose bonds. This is a procedure that could
utilize solar heat energy and might have been cheaper than acid
hydrolysis under the right circumstances. However, aside from the two
papers I read on the subject some years ago, I've never heard of it again.
Robert, are bacteria creatures or plants? "Microflora" they say. (Not
that plants aren't creatures.)
The division may be arbitrary, but prokaryote cells do not contain
membrane bound organelles, such as a nucleus, golgi apparatus and
mitochondria. They are generally considered an older form of life
than eukaryotic cells that evolutionary biologists believe evolved
from them. Eukaryotic cells also differ in that they contain 80 S
cytoplasmic ribosomes, organelles responsible for protein synthesis.
A prokayotic cell will not have a nucleus, so its DNA remains exposed
within the cell. Some species, anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria,
can grow as photoheterotrophs, photoautotrophs or chemoheterotrophs
depending on the environment that surrounds them. They are very
amazing creatures!
Amazing, yes. Not much is known about
them. Most of the microbugs working away in a good compost pile (maybe
25,000 different types) haven't been identified yet, let alone their
capabilities. IMO there's more and better to be gained via such research
than nonsense like Big M's pesticide-resistant soybeans, eg.
If I were in charge, things would be different. . .
robert luis rabello
"The Edge of Justice"
Adventure for Your Mind
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=9782>
Ranger Supercharger Project Page
http://www.members.shaw.ca/rabello/
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