Microbial Produced Fuels as Economically Viable Renewable Fuel Source Essay

Microbial Produced Fuels as Economically Viable Renewable Fuel Source - Essay Example The essay seeks to perform a brief overview of the existing microbiological means of energy production and creates a persuasive argument for furthering the research and funding into alternative fossil fuels. There are several different types of microbiological means of creating fuels. Many of these have been understood since the beginning of the 20th century; others have only recently been developed in the past decade or so. One of the oldest forms of creating energy via microbiological means is with regard to using different strains of bacteria to produce electricity. This particular practice was engaged as early as the late 1920s by teams of American and German scientists that were interested in the means through which electrical generation via natural and readily available cultures might exist. Not surprisingly, this particular form of electrical generation was extraordinarily inefficient and yielded only a very small amount of electricity as compared to the level of investment that it required to function. More recently, scientists have turned their collective energies towards the creation of gasoline derivatives and/or biodiesel through a process of photosynthesis and algae reproduction. The inherent benefit technology improvement has to do with the fact that if this particular process is perfected, the overall energy independence that a particular region or nation Hope to exhibit will be drastically increased. This technology does not exhibit any toxic or long-lasting negative impacts.