Little lively chemists- I I

As we have seen in the previous article "Little lively chemists- part I" bacteria are the tiniest of the living beings. And though they are sooo.. very tiny they carry out a vast range of biochemical reactions. Some of them can trap sunlight and make food and release oxygen.

Food and oxygen, the two products of these wee little creatures support life of a vast majority of so called 'advanced' animals and of non-green palnts.

But photosynthesis is only one of the many beneficial actions of our minutest ancient most ancestors. Let us see one more benefit they confer on us.

Some strictly anerobic ancient most bacteria are the methanogens. They produce the gas methane.

A mixture of methane (about 60%), carbon dioxide ( 39% ) and trace amounts of nitrogen, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulfide etc. is also known as the 'marsh gas' or 'natural / bio / gobar gas'. This gas is a very valuable source of bioenergy.

Biogas is generated when bacteria degrade biological material in absence of oxygen.

Generation of biogas takes place in digestive systems, in marshes, lake bottoms, and deep in soils. It also occurs at man made sites like rubbish dumps, septic tanks, dairy waste water lagoons and landfills. The generation of biogas helps keep the environment clean and heaps of garbage do not act as breeding ground for flies and other disease carriers.

The gobar gas or biogas can be useful as fuel for cooking and lighting homes and streets in a village. It saves fossil energy in the form of coal, oil and gas. It is an environmentally friendly source of energy. It is a colorless and odorless gas that burns with clear blue flame just like the liquid petroleum gas. It emits no Sulphur. As fossil fuels become scarcer the importance of this renewable source of energy will increase further.

Water hyacinth a fast growing weed can also be used to feed a biogas generator and is proving an asset, so far as, bioenergy production is concerned. After the methanogenic bacteria have done their job and have produced the biogas a slurry is left in the tank. It is a stabilized manure which has hardly any pathogens. The slurry, therefore, can be used to increase soil fertility and to enhance crop production.

All of us fitness conscious people know importance of proteins to our body. Proteins are made of amino acids. Amino acids need as their constituent nitrogen. Nitrogen fixation is an ability unique ot bacteria.

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