Fungus Could Make For New Diesel Fuel

Emerging green technologies are always something to get excited about. After all, it will be these technologies that ween our dependence off of fossil fuels. And even though hearing the term "fungus fuel" might sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, it's a real thing that has real potential.

A Montana State University professor located a fungus in the Patagonia rainforest that can be used to create a new diesel fuel. And while this idea isn't exactly new and has been used to convert algae into fuel, this is better. The fungus is called Gliocladium roseum and it can produce gases. It also possesses many of the compounds typically found in diesel fuel.

This new fuel is called "myco-diesel" and you can actually pour some of it into your gas tank and it would run a diesel engine. No modification necessary. It is unknown at this point if myco-diesel could be used commercially, but it is definitely an interesting discovery.