INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY : Bacteria Make Good Employees - Brief Article

Applied Genetics News, March, 2000

Bacteria with specific talents are being put to work in industry. Some are being used in bioremediation projects, such as cleaning up oil and industrial waste, and some are employed in the mining industry.

EnSolve Biosystems, Inc. (3209 Gresham Lake Rd., Suite 147, Raleigh, NC 27615, Tel: 919/954-6196; Website: www.ensolve.com) has received U.S. Coast Guard and International Maritime Organization certification for its maritime oily water separator, which uses bacteria-isolated natural environments. The first commercial unit will be installed on a 1,000-ft. cargo vessel operating in the U.S. Great Lakes. EnSolve's PetroLiminator is the first in a new generation of separators that combine modern biotechnology with physical separation of oil from water.

EnSolve's PetroLiminator combines mechanical separation of oil and water with a unique biological chamber that contains millions of naturally occurring bacteria attached to a support structure. These bacteria have been isolated from environments where the bacteria have evolved to use hydrocarbons as a food source. EnSolve's scientists use proprietary techniques to select the best- performing bacteria for use in a bilge environment. PetroLiminator includes a fail-safe monitoring process to ensure that water discharged is cleaner than the regulatory limit of 15 ppm (parts per million).

"The system will save tens of thousands of dollars per ship each year in disposal and labor costs," says Jason Caplan, chairman and CEO of Ensolve. "Just as importantly, it will provide peace of mind and protect our sensitive marine environment."

Peter Coschigano, an assistant professor of environmental microbiology at Ohio University (Athens, OH) is studying a bacteria called T1 that metabolizes toluene. Researchers at the New York University Medical Center discovered the bacterial strain T1 about 10 years ago while digging through the mud at contaminated sites in search of an organism in the natural environment that could break down toluene without oxygen - an organism which is absent in some polluted areas. Coschigano is investigating how T1 metabolizes the solvent, what genes are involved, and how the process is turned on and off.

Even if Coschigano determines how to control T1's appetite for toluene in the lab, he doesn't know how efficiently the bacterial strain will clean up contaminants in the complex natural environment. A more predictable, easier, and cheaper option might be to unleash T1 on toluene in a contained, industrial setting - before toluene has a chance to escape into the environment.

"Toluene is one of the most widely used industrial solvents," he says. "There can be situations where companies have a lot of toluene waste they need to dispose of. And instead of incinerating it, if we can deal with it in a contained system, we might be able to reduce that cost."

Billiton plc, (1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5HA; Tel: 171-747-3800, Fax: 171-747- 3900; Website: www.billiton.com), a mining company from Britain, is forming a biotechnology venture with Chile's Codelco, which owns 20% of global reserves of copper, to use bacteria in copper production. In return for its technology, Billiton will take 50% of the copper produced.

The copper-producing bacteria oxidize sulfur ore to provide energy. The bioleaching is environmentally friendly - unlike conventional methods of processing ore, it does not produce the sulfur dioxide responsible for acid rain.

Billiton already uses similar technology for gold production at mines in South Africa, Brazil, Australia, and Peru.

A prototype bioleaching facility will be built at Codelco's Chuquimata mine. If successful, the venture will be expanded to produce 100,000 tons over the next five to seven years.