A possible solution to the world’s growing demand for fuel has been found in the Chesapeake Bay.
A bacterium from the Bay is the key to a new technology developed at the University of Maryland, College Park, that produces low-cost ethanol out of plant-based material, including garbage.
The prospect conjures up images of ‘‘Back to the Future,” the 1985 film in which the zany Doc Brown reconfigures his time travel machine to use household waste as a power source, and just stuffs in some trash whenever he needs to zoom off.
Steven W. Hutcheson and Ron Weiner, who are chemical and life sciences professors, developed the system that can break down almost any source of plant life into sugars, which are then converted into ethanol and other biofuels.
‘‘Anything that is derived from wood or wood pulp is something that is potentially convertible by this technology,” Hutcheson said. Besides paper that is being recycled, there is quite a bit of plant matter still ending up in landfills from which ethanol can be made, he said.
Hutcheson tapped into university resources that fuel business development, and launched Zymetis Inc. in 2006. The biotechnology company is housed in the school’s incubator program. In partnership with Fiberight — a Virginia company that processes waste plant products — Zymetis plans to establish a full-scale facility by the end of 2008 to transform this waste into ethanol.
Although Zymetis researchers have been unable to isolate the bacterium in the Bay again, they are producing it in their laboratories through cultured growth, according to the university.
The company could tap a $5 billion annual market by 2022, according to a Zymetis report.
Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) toured the company’s lab Monday while Hutcheson explained how the technology works.
‘‘This is an exciting day. It is rare ... that a bacteria ever gets Number 1, front-page placement,” O’Malley said. The state government is a partner in helping find new renewable forms of energy and, O’Malley said, he hopes the federal government also sees the promise in this technology and becomes involved in its development.
O’Malley also awarded a $50,000 grant from the state Department of Business and Economic Development to the project.
‘‘This is a powerful new idea and new science that can be scaled up and can go to market,” he said.
The enzyme mixture that breaks down biomass, called Ethazyme, is licensed exclusively to Zymetis.
The scientists grow the bacterium and extract enzymes from it that are then applied to the selected material to release sugars, Hutcheson said. Yeast is then used to convert those sugars into ethanol.
The end result is fuel from trash, which is better than fuel from food, he said. One of the problems with producing ethanol from corn is the cost of the stock.
Corn was selling for about $2 a bushel when corn ethanol production began, and now fetches $5.25 a bushel, Hutcheson said. Then there’s the cost of processing.
On the other hand, the plant-based waste for the Zymetis process is so plentiful that supplies could be had for free — or the processor might even be paid to pick it up, he said.
Elizabeth Santos and Kristen Goff are both 2007 graduates who once interned for Hutcheson and now work for Zymetis.
It’s exciting to work for this type of startup, Goff said, as not many people can say they work for a brand-new biofuels company.
‘‘It’s very interesting, and I do see a big future ahead for this company,” Santos said.
