US DOE awards biodesulfurization research grant to Enchira Biotechnology Corp.

Aug. 7, 2000
Proponents of biodiesel say it has become the first alternative fuel to complete the health effects testing requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment.

The US Department of Energy has awarded a $900,000 grant to Enchira Biotechnology Corp. (formerly Energy Biosystems Corp.), The Woodlands, Tex., to conduct research and development on the biodesulfurization of gasoline feedstocks.

With this DOE funding, Enchira will use its proprietary gene-shuffling technology to attempt to develop a biocatalyst to remove sulfur from gasoline.

The grant will fund the project through May 2001. This is the third year of a 3-year program; the previous 2 years were devoted to developing analytical methods, developing host bacterial strains, and creating models.