Team:METU HS Ankara

METU HS IGEM

Support renewable energy Renew earth’s future with BIO-E

problem

The use of non-renewable energy resources , by greenhouse gas emissions lead to environmental problems and also puts great strains on countries’ budgets.

vision

As we sought an alternative energy source, renewable, sustainable and one that will outrun fossil fuels our research lead us to biofuels.

solution

Finally, we made use of bioethanol which is a renewable and sustainable green energy source that could be obtained from agricultural waste.

What We Did: Please proceed to our project page for information in depth.

We investigated ways to obtain bioethanol and faced a distinction between bio-energy generations as first, second, and third. The first generation energy evokes concerns in terms of the debate “food vs fuel” since it is obtained from food crops. On the other hand, second-generation product is from lignocellulosic biomass, so doesn’t create a controversy as such and less cultivation and fermentation. Thus, we chose to develop a second-generation bioethanol production system and upgrade it by engineering ethanologenic E.coli strain KO11 using the two genes FucO and GSH.

Why Bioethanol?

We chose bioethanol as our point of attention due to its qualities of being non-toxic, biodegradable, cost-friendly, it reducing the amount of crude oil dependency from other countries and most importantly, being less likely to cause high greenhouse gas emissions, thus less pollution. In comparison with other fuels, ethanol contains 35% oxygen so the complete combustion of fuel can be seen which lowers the emission of harmful gases. Moreover, ethanol production uses energy from biomass which means that it is renewable and sustainable. Furthermore, ethanol by fermentation offers a more favorable trade balance, enhanced energy security, and a major new crop for a depressed agricultural economy. Furthermore, while being 20-30% more efficient, bioethanol used as a fuel reduces engine weight and provides higher torque and horsepower compared to conventional gasoline engines.

Project Description Demonstration

Fun facts.

iGEM is hard work and all, but never forget; there is no project without a little fun with your teammates.

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beyond the lab bench We worked with many experts

Collaboration

Since collaborating is an essential part of iGEM, encouraging teams to overcome problems, we have interacted with various teams from all around the world. To see what we’ve achieved together, please proceed to the collaborations page.

Attributions

Since science is a collective effort, one can never pursue great things alone and without taking help from people who are experts in the specific subjects. Not to mention the nature of iGEM projects requiring us to be well-rounded, it's fair to say it's next to impossible to do it alone. See the people and their contributions to our project on the page attributions.

Human Practices

Beyond the lab, we were there to be a part of the society. During the making of our project, we benefited from the public idea as much as we benefited from any protocol or article. We strove to integrate what we have learned from others to our project in order to make the best use of Bio-E, since we wanted the whole world to make use of our fermentation process in the future.

Contrary to popular belief, iGEM is much more than what meets the eye. It means to be conscious, it means to have a community, it means entrepreneurship. Just like all the iGEM teams, our experience leads us to learn that science is truly a collective endeavor. Here is our interactions with peers, experts, and the public.

The Team.

Every member of this team has spared tremendous efforts and endless work hours to make our project come to life. The team is not only about working together but like a family.

Team Collaborations