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

chemical 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 in all living things, plants and animal. There are more microorganisms on and inside your body than there are cellsentire body. Microorganisms can live in the air, on land, and in fresh or salt water environments. Some of them, paharmful 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 communities of forests, deserts, tundra, water, air,

depend on the cryptobiotic crust or microbiotic layethe layer of soil that most microbes live in. These mare made up of fungi, cyanobacteria and lichens. Tcover on the ground when they are first forming, blichen that look like little hills after about 50 years o

The cyanobacteria Nostoc lives on the land and forms infilaments of hyphae that hold the microbial mat of lichen

together. 

The cyanobacteria called Nostoc helps lichen pphotosynthesis. 

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

again. 

This is the microbial crust left after it was put in wa

pointing to a kind of lichen form of lichen is insid

cyanobacgteria are

Airborne Microbes 

Airborne microbes cause a lot of illnesses and diseases in humans. Microorganisms can enter the air when a humor by the wind picking up the light particles and blowing them where humans are. When a human sneezes microorlungs at around 200 miles per hour. Some of the microorganisms that are growing in the mucus in the respiratory the moisture particles that are sneezed out of the lungs. These microorganisms can be breathed into the lungs of 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 thagrouped is by the temperature in their environment. Another way to organize microorganisms is by placing them inor eukaryot group. 

How do microorganisms reproduce?? 

Thermophiles reproduce either by sexual or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction requires a male and femalasexual reproduction happens by cell division, mitosis. Thermophilic fungi reproduce by producing male and femacontact 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 plandead organic matter into food for the plant to absorb. The plants that live and grow because of the microorganismsmake a home for other animals to live in. Some microorganisms make people, animals, and plants sick, but otherskill the bacteria on plants that make them sick. Drug companies that make medicines use hundreds of different mimedicines that will help cure diseases. Human waste products are broken down into safer particles by some microare always looking for new ways to use microbes, and only a few uses have been listed here. 

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Microorganisms   Taxonomy  

 

Fungi  Viruses 

 

What is fungi? 

Fungi is a group of simple plants that have no chlorophyll. There are some ssingle celled organisms, and there are other kinds of fungi that are multi-cellmade up of filaments called hyphe that are stacked together from end to endon land and other types of fungi live in water environments. Since fungi has make its own food. Some types of fungi lives off of other organisms and are species feed off of dead and decaying matter. A third kind of fungi lives with neither the fungi or the organism is hurt. This kind of relationship is called po

 

Fungus like this one feed on the remains of Spores are released

 

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  dead plant and animal matter.  mushroom caps durinof mus

How is fungi identified? 

Witches Broom Fungiattacks cacao trees

that produce chocolate 

Trichoderma is a goodfungi, it attacks badfungus that destroys

crops. 

Mushroom 

How does fungi reproduce? 

When reproductive hyphae cells are made by the fungus, a mushroom shapscientific name for the mushroom shape is the sporocarp. It has one purposereproductive spores. The sporocarp is not part of the live fungi. Reproductionspores which contain the reproductive cells must somehow come in contact fungi can reproduce. 

What does fungi do? 

Fungi are important decomposers of dead animal and plant matter. Thedeadorganic matter into simple compounds that can be absorbed by thDuring the process of decomposing matter, fungi returns carbon dioxidGreen plants use the carbon dioxide during photosynthesis to producereleased into the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis, sodepends on the fungi for survival. Plants also benefit from fungi becausaround the roots of plants. As the fungus decomposes dead matter aroplant, it leaves behind nutrients that the plant needs. Some fungi, like mingredients in recipes. They add flavor to meals. 

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Fungus in caves break down minerals in rock wa

Photographic Citations: Photographic citations can be found by passing the mouse over the photogra

Text Citations:

National Forest Service: http://www.aqd.nps.gov/pubs/yir/yir2000/pages/03_parks_as_labs/03_01_bu

 

Links   Interactives   Glossary   Site Outline  

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Microorganisms   Taxonomy   Hab

Fungi Viruses   Bact

What are bacteria? 

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

Bacilli Bacteria  Cocci Bacteria Spirilla Bacteria

with hair-likeflagella 

Rod-ShapeBacteria 

How are bacteria identified? 

There are three ways to identify bacteria; gram stain, respiration, and shape. A gram stain is a mthey can be identified. The gram stain results will either be positive or negative. Gram-positive b

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

Rod-Shaped Bacteria Filamentousiron oxidizing

bacterium 

BacteriaSpores 

Filamentoubacterium

How do bacteria reproduce? 

Most bacteria reproduce asexually. That means that new cells are formed during single cell divireproduce sexually, with a male and female bacteria. 

Sexual Reproduction -Male and Female 

Asexual D

What do bacteria do? 

Bacteria are decomposers, they break down the chemical elements inside other living or dead othe intestines of humans and animals. They decompose, or break down food particles so that thbacteria live in the soil and water, they help break down dead matter there. Bacteria that live in nitrogen, sulfur, and other chemical elements while decomposing matter. 

Bacteria Spores Inside Lung Tissue  Bacterial

 

Photographic Citations: 

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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 

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  Links  Interactives   Glossary 

Acidophiles are microorganisms that can live in acidic environments. The acidic environments that acidophiles can live inhave a ph level of 1 - 5. Acidophiles are able to survive in this acid habitat because its cells pump out poisonous hydrogenions 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 inproducing lactic

acidcommercially. It isalso found in thehuman body inthe 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 reproducethrough 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 extremophilesare classified in the group of archaea. They grow best in temperatures that are between 50C/120F- 70C/158F. They willnot grow if the temperature reaches 20C/68F. Thermophiles are not easy to study because the extreme conditions thatthey 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 compostand garbage landfills are two examples of environments that produce heat on their own.

Some thermophiles like, Chaetomium thermophile, Humicola insolens, Humicola (Thermomyces) lanuginosus ,

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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 theoutside 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 oreukaryotes 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. Thatthermophile would be called an thermoacidophile. 

How do thermophiles reproduce? 

Thermophiles reproduce either by sexual or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction requires a maleand female organism, but asexual reproduction happens by cell division, mitosis. Thermophilic fungireproduce by producing male and female spores that come in contact with each other to produce anew organism. 

Paecilomyces is a fungus that is common in composting. The tree-likestructures are anexample of aerial hyphae with asexual sporing structures. Aereal hyphaereach upward so thatthe spores can be released easily into the air. 

This is a matt of thePaecilomyces growing ina lab dish. It forms afuzzy matt of aerealhyphae. 

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Aspergillus fumigatus is common in compost andyou can see the spore rods that hold the hyphae.The hyphae produces spores used to reproduce. 

You can see the sporehead of the hyphae inthis picture. 

What do thermophiles do? 

Thermus aquaticus and Thermococcus litoralis are two thermophiles that are used as an enzyme usedin DNA fingerprinting in criminal cases or in identification of parents or siblings. Bacillusstearothermophilus 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 inorder to grow. These kinds of thermophiles turn this organic matter into a rich source of nutrients forliving microorganisms and plants to use as food.