New Alternative Fuel: Old Newspapers

Here at the Go Green Blog, we're all about discovering new alternatives to gasoline.  From solar panels to fuel derived from fast food oil, we love learning about the latest and greatest forms of energy.  So when we read an MSNBC article about Tulane University scientists who turned old newspapers into biofuel, we were pretty excited!

According to MSNBC, researchers discovered a bacterium, TU-103, that "will convert to butanol, a biofuel that is nearly as energy dense as unleaded gasoline."  The scientists were looking for a microbe that could produce butanol from cellulose and wouldn't produce oxygen, reports MSNBC.  According to the Atlantic Wire, "Lead by Professor David Mullin, the team found the unique strain of bacteria 'in animal droppings, cultivated it and developed a method for using it to produce butanol.'"

Because cellulose is also found in paper, the individuals involved with the project have begun experimenting with old newspapers, specifically "with old editions of the Times Picayune," reports the Atlantic Wire.  We only hope that the idea catches on-- this could be a great step in reducing our nation's dependency on fossil fuels!