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From: BHB3@PSUVM.BITNET
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: psuedo monous bacteria eating petrolium (oil)
Message-ID: <89351.151516BHB3@PSUVM.BITNET>
Date: 17 Dec 89 20:15:16 GMT
References: <6837@pdn.paradyne.com>
Organization: Penn State University
Lines: 21


In article <6837@pdn.paradyne.com>, winters@gumby.paradyne.com (John Winters)
says:
>
>I have heard that a strain of psuedomonous bacteria have been developed
>that will eat up oil spills.  What if these were injected into an oil well?
>
>What is the strain called?  What does the latin psuedomonous mean?
>False what?  Do they require any gasses to live and are these gasses
>present in oil wells?  When these bacteria decompose, what would they
>turn into, back into oil? or gass?  Could we convert oil wells into
>gas fields?
>
>Anyone for a wildcat gas venture? :)

I have heard of the possible use of bacteria that will metabolize oil to help
clean up oil spills.  I doubt the use of bacteria would be competative with
thermal catalytic cracking for converting liquid petroleum into gas(propane
 and butane).

                                                 Brent H. Besler