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methanotrophs
University of North Texas assistant professor Calvin Henard, left, with professor Ana Paula Alonso. [Photo: Leo Gonzalez/UNT]
The Last Word: UNT’s Calvin Henard on Engineering a Bacteria that ‘Eats’ Greenhouse Gases
by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report | Nov 3, 2022
In his lab at the BioDiscovery Institute, Henard engineers methanotrophic bacteria to convert methane gas into bioplastics, biofuels, and other products. While they're at it, the methanotrophs also consume carbon dioxide, another key ingredient causing climate change.
With a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the Agile BioFoundry, a national labs consortium, Henard has begun a three-year study into the beneficial bacteria, which can lead to a more sustainable way to produce fuels, plastics, and chemicals than by using petroleum.
