Methane-to-Acetate

Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) is engineering a type of bacteria known as Methanosarcina acetivorans to produce acetate from methane gas. Current approaches to methane conversion are energy-intensive and result in substantial waste of carbon dioxide. Penn State will engineer a pathway for converting methane to a chemical called acetate by reversing the natural pathway for acetate to methanol conversion. This new approach is advantageous because it consumes carbon dioxide, produces energy-rich carbon-carbon bonds, and conserves electrons to make the molecules produced reactive and easy to combine with other molecules. The acetate generated can be used to form polymers that can be further processed into liquid fuels.