BY KELLY LOUISEIZE
Greater Sudbury - The mere mention of bacteria, viruses or fungi would have some people running for medical masks, but not Dr. Vasu Appanna, chair and professor of biochemistry at Laurentian University.
The professor will be using such micro-organisms in his study methods to reduce or eliminate the deterioration of fuels and to extract high-grade minerals from mine tailing ponds.
Appanna, along with colleagues from the Russian Federal Nuclear Research Centre, Moscow State University and the Museum d’Histiore Naturelle de Paris, are examining various ways to preserve fuels over time.
He has worked with Russian colleagues for some years and this new study promises to shed more light on fuel properties. With close to $750,000 from the International Science and Technology Centre (ISTC), scientists will examine particle separation in fuels such as petroleum. The separation brought on by bacteria causes the ignition of the fuel. That’s a bad thing.
“Combustion happens spontaneously,” Appanna says, adding ships, submarines and members can be the unfortunate victims in such accidents.
Every country has a set of fuel storage regulations.
Understanding what bacteria are growing in the fuel can lead to the prevention of fuel combustion, he explains. It will also help to identify which anti-bacterial agent may be used to reduce or eliminate the spontaneous ignition.
The Russian scientists are working with ultra-violet rays to eliminate the bacteria, while PhD and master students at Laurentian’s lab are examining how viruses can act as an anti-bacterial agents. One option is to “coat tanks with preventative agents.”
This is all part of the non-proliferation program set up by ISTC, of which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a member under the Global Partnership Program.
Appanna frequents Russia to stay in touch with collaborating scientist Oleg Kuznetnov. All have signed Intellectual Property agreements should they discover tools that could be commercially marketable worldwide. As the project matures, Appanna expects other ministries and private sector oil companies to become more interested. Often private companies are reluctant to disclose their preservation methods but are eager to find new ways of keeping their investments intact.
“It is like putting 100 dollars into an investment, coming back 10 years later to find only one dollar is left.”
