Methanation is a physical-chemical process to generate Methane from a mixture of various gases out of biomass fermentation or thermochemical gasification.

The main components are carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The following main process describes the methanation:

This process is used for the generation of biogenous natural gas substitute, which can be fed into the gas grid. Methanation is the reverse reaction of steam methane reforming, which converts methane into synthesis gas.

Microorganisms are very tiny one-celled organisms, viruses, fungi, and bacteria, and are found everywhere in the world. Th in all living things, plants and animal. There are more microorganisms on and inside your body than there are cells that mak entire body. Microorganisms can live in the air, on land, and in fresh or salt water environments. Some of them, pathogens, harmful and causes diseases, but there are some microorganisms that are needed for living things to survive.

Land Microbes All of the living things, plant and animal, in earth's environm communities of forests, deserts, tundra, water, air, and all o depend on the cryptobiotic crust or microbiotic layer in the s the layer of soil that most microbes live in. These microbe c are made up of fungi, cyanobacteria and lichens. They look cover on the ground when they are first forming, but do form lichen that look like little hills after about 50 years of growth

The cyanobacteria Nostoc lives on the land and forms in filaments of hyphae that hold the microbial mat of lichen together.

The cyanobacteria called Nostoc helps lichen produce f photosynthesis.

Microbial Crust The microbial crust found in the desert is all dried up for most of the year. All it takes is a little bit of water to make it active again.

This is the microbial crust from the left after it was put in water. The pointing to a kind of lichen in this se form of lichen is inside the squ cyanobacgteria are inside the

Airborne Microbes Airborne microbes cause a lot of illnesses and diseases in humans. Microorganisms can enter the air when a human or ani or by the wind picking up the light particles and blowing them where humans are. When a human sneezes microorganisms lungs at around 200 miles per hour. Some of the microorganisms that are growing in the mucus in the respiratory tract ente the moisture particles that are sneezed out of the lungs. These microorganisms can be breathed into the lungs of another p that person could get sick.

How are microorganisms identified? Microorganisms are put into groups, but a lot of microorganisms can belong to more than one group. One way that microor grouped is by the temperature in their environment. Another way to organize microorganisms is by placing them in either th or eukaryot group.

How do microorganisms reproduce?? Thermophiles reproduce either by sexual or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction requires a male and female organis asexual reproduction happens by cell division, mitosis. Thermophilic fungi reproduce by producing male and female spores contact with each other to produce a new organism. What do microorganisms do?

Microorganisms also are responsible for building fertile soil for plants to grow in. Microbes stick to the roots of plants and de dead organic matter into food for the plant to absorb. The plants that live and grow because of the microorganisms that live make a home for other animals to live in. Some microorganisms make people, animals, and plants sick, but others make pe kill the bacteria on plants that make them sick. Drug companies that make medicines use hundreds of different microorgan medicines that will help cure diseases. Human waste products are broken down into safer particles by some microorganism are always looking for new ways to use microbes, and only a few uses have been listed here.

Microorganisms

Taxonomy

Habita

Fungi

Viruses

Bacteri

What is fungi? Fungi is a group of simple plants that have no chlorophyll. There are some species of single celled organisms, and there are other kinds of fungi that are multi-cellular organ made up of filaments called hyphe that are stacked together from end to end. Some k on land and other types of fungi live in water environments. Since fungi has no chloro make its own food. Some types of fungi lives off of other organisms and are parasites species feed off of dead and decaying matter. A third kind of fungi lives with other org neither the fungi or the organism is hurt. This kind of relationship is called positive sym

Fungus like this one feed on the remains of

Spores are released from the

dead plant and animal matter.

mushroom caps during the rep of mushrooms How is fungi identified?

Trichoderma is a good Witches Broom Fungi fungi, it attacks bad attacks cacao trees Mushroom fungus that destroys that produce chocolate crops. How does fungi reproduce? When reproductive hyphae cells are made by the fungus, a mushroom shape forms a scientific name for the mushroom shape is the sporocarp. It has one purpose, that is t reproductive spores. The sporocarp is not part of the live fungi. Reproduction in fungi spores which contain the reproductive cells must somehow come in contact with one fungi can reproduce.

What does fungi do? Fungi are important decomposers of dead animal and plant matter. They break deadorganic matter into simple compounds that can be absorbed by the plants During the process of decomposing matter, fungi returns carbon dioxide to the Green plants use the carbon dioxide during photosynthesis to produce food. O released into the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis, so animal depends on the fungi for survival. Plants also benefit from fungi because some around the roots of plants. As the fungus decomposes dead matter around the plant, it leaves behind nutrients that the plant needs. Some fungi, like mushroo ingredients in recipes. They add flavor to meals.

Fungus in caves break down minerals in rock walls. Photographic Citations: Photographic citations can be found by passing the mouse over the photograph. Text Citations:

National Forest Service: http://www.aqd.nps.gov/pubs/yir/yir2000/pages/03_parks_as_labs/03_01_burger.htm

Links

Interactives

Glossary

Site Outline

Microorganisms

Taxonomy

Habitat

Fungi

Viruses

Bacteria

What are bacteria? Bacteria are part of a very large group of single-celled organisms. There is one group of bacteria that ha the process of photosynthesis to produce their own food. Bacteria that are parasites live inside man, anim causing diseases. Symptoms for disease caused by the toxins that bacteria produce inside the cells. Som meaning that they require oxygen in order to survive. Other bacteria are anaerobes, meaning that they d survive. Bacteria is moved by air and water currents, and on any surface such as clothing, hands, or any themselves by using thin hair-like structures called flagella or by wriggling if they do not have a flagella..

Bacilli Bacteria

Cocci Bacteria

Spirilla Bacteria with hair-like flagella

m Rod-Shaped Bacteria

How are bacteria identified? There are three ways to identify bacteria; gram stain, respiration, and shape. A gram stain is a method o they can be identified. The gram stain results will either be positive or negative. Gram-positive bacteria s

under a microscope, and gram-negagive bacteria show up red. Respiration is not the same as breathing believe. All of your cells go through a process of respiration that breaks down substances into a simple fo energy in the process.

Rod-Shaped Bacteria

Filamentous iron oxidizing bacterium

Bacteria Spores

Filamentous bacterium

How do bacteria reproduce? Most bacteria reproduce asexually. That means that new cells are formed during single cell division. Som reproduce sexually, with a male and female bacteria.

Sexual Reproduction Male and Female

Asexual Reprodu Division -

What do bacteria do? Bacteria are decomposers, they break down the chemical elements inside other living or dead organism the intestines of humans and animals. They decompose, or break down food particles so that they can b bacteria live in the soil and water, they help break down dead matter there. Bacteria that live in the soil a nitrogen, sulfur, and other chemical elements while decomposing matter.

Bacteria Spores Inside Lung Tissue

Bacterial Infection

Photographic Citations:

Photographic citations can be found by passing the mouse over the photograph. Text Citations: Concise Science Dictionary: Text prepared by: Market House Books Ltd., Aylesbury Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd. Bungay, Suffolk, 1984 The World Book Encyclopedia: World Book, Inc., 1989

Links

Interactives

Glossary

Site Outli

Acidophiles are microorganisms that can live in acidic environments. The acidic environments that acidophiles can live in have a ph level of 1 - 5. Acidophiles are able to survive in this acid habitat because its cells pump out poisonous hydrogen ions fast enough not to damage the DNA inside thenucleus. If they could not pump out the hydrogen ions, then acidophiles would not be able to survive. The ph level inside the acidophiles stays at about 6.5, which is a mild rate. Lactobacillus is important in producing lactic acid commercially. It is also found in the human body in the mouth and intestines.

How are acidophiles identified?

Acidophiles are identified by their ability to live in acid environments. Each different kind of acidophiles are able to live in a different ph level from 1-5 on the ph scale.
How do acidophiles reproduce?

In order for acidophiles to reproduce their enviroment must have a phy of 5.4 or less. Acidophiles reproduce through either asexually through mitosis, or sexual reproduction.

What do acidophiles do?

Acidophiles are used to recover metallic minerals lost during the mining of coal.It is also used to reduce sulfur levels in coal. Some acidophiles are used as organic acids or solvents.
(Links to citations are properly set, but sometimes fail. Try them once again and they usually work.) hermophiles are microorganisms that live and grow in extremely hot environments that would kill most other microorganisms. Thermophiles are grouped into eitherprokaryotes or eukaryotes, and these two groups of extremophiles are classified in the group of archaea. They grow best in temperatures that are between 50C/120F- 70C/158F. They will not grow if the temperature reaches 20C/68F. Thermophiles are not easy to study because the extreme conditions that they need to survive are hard to provide in a laboratory. Thermophiles either live in geothermal habitats, or they live in environments that create heat themselves. A pile of compost and garbage landfills are two examples of environments that produce heat on their own. Some thermophiles like, Chaetomium thermophile, Humicola insolens, Humicola (Thermomyces) lanuginosus ,

Thermoascus aurantiacus, a Paecilomyces-like fungus and Aspergillus fumigatus are microorganisms called fungi.

This grey fungi called Rhizomucor pusillus is found in compost piles. It makes a fluffy cover on the outside and aerial hyphae that stick upward. Spores grow on a stalk that produces spores. How are thermophiles identified? Thermophiles are identified in the group of archaea. They can then be divided into prokaryotes or eukaryotes and then finally grouped by the temperature that each can live and grow in. An even smaller identification can be made if a thermophile lives in and acidic and geothermal habitat. That thermophile would be called an thermoacidophile. How do thermophiles reproduce? Thermophiles reproduce either by sexual or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction requires a male and female organism, but asexual reproduction happens by cell division, mitosis. Thermophilic fungi reproduce by producing male and female spores that come in contact with each other to produce a new organism.

Paecilomyces is a fungus that is common in composting. The tree-like structures are an example of aerial hyphae with asexual sporing structures. Aereal hyphae reach upward so that the spores can be released easily into the air.

This is a matt of the Paecilomyces growing in a lab dish. It forms a fuzzy matt of aereal hyphae.

Aspergillus fumigatus is common in compost and You can see the spore you can see the spore rods that hold the hyphae. head of the hyphae in The hyphae produces spores used to reproduce. this picture. What do thermophiles do? Thermus aquaticus and Thermococcus litoralis are two thermophiles that are used as an enzyme used in DNA fingerprinting in criminal cases or in identification of parents or siblings. Bacillus stearothermophilus is another thermophile used as an enzyme in in biological detergents. Thermophiles in self-heating environments must have a supply of organic matter like food scraps in order to grow. These kinds of thermophiles turn this organic matter into a rich source of nutrients for living microorganisms and plants to use as food.