To 19-year-old Tarek Sayed, a freshmen mechanical engineering student at Cairo's Canadian University, the link between organic waste and biogas is quite natural. The idea came to Sayed five years ago when he was thinking about how to benefit from nanotechnology in improving the genetic characteristics of different types of cells. “I wanted to know to what extent nanotechnology would affect tiny cells, so I decided to try an experiment on bacteria.” Sayed explained that an American scientist named Don Eigler had invented a machine called a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) that he decided to use on single-cell bacteria. This microscope is only available in Egypt in two places: the National Research Centre and the laser institute at Cairo University. “I was 14 when I worked on both microscopes and began my research,” Sayed said, adding that he had been permitted to use the devices because when he was 11 he had become a member of the Egyptian Scientists Union as he had already registered a fire alarm device. Sayed used a certain type of bacteria in his research called IM bacteria, which is available in organic waste like animal dung, rice, straw, agriculture waste or any other waste that contains carbon. “By using the microscope, I succeeded in modifying the genetic characteristics of the IM bacteria and improving its traits,” Sayed said. Simply put, the idea was to direct the rays from the microscope directly onto the DNA of the IM bacteria in order to improve its genetic characteristics. Biogas reactors around the world use IM bacteria to produce biogas. By using Sayed's modified IM bacteria these will be able to achieve significantly better results, he says. “Reactors that use normal bacteria produce biogas after 40 days, while using the modified IM bacteria produces it after only 19 hours,” Sayed said. The biogas contains methane, the higher the percentage the higher the quality of the gas. “The reactors that use normal IM bacteria produce a biogas with methane of 50 to 70 per cent, but the modified bacteria produce biogas with 86 per cent methane,” Sayed said, adding that the reactors produce fertilisers in addition to biogas. High-quality fertiliser should contain high percentages of nitrogen. “The nitrogen materials in fertilisers from the modified bacteria are at 68 per cent, while they are only at a maximum of 50 per cent in the others,” Sayed said. Sayed explained that the modified fertilisers do not contain unwanted chemical substances, which helps in yielding more organic fruit and vegetables. When Sayed was 17 he participated with this research in one of the biggest scientific competitions in the world, which took place in Kuwait. He applied twice but wasn't accepted because of his age. “About 25,000 scientists from around the world applied, but only 200 were accepted and I was one of them,” Sayed said. Sayed, who was the youngest scientist present, was ranked second out of the 200 scientists that had come from all over the world. “The difference between me and the number one scientist, who was 77 years old, was only six points,” Sayed added. After the competition, the Kuwaiti media wrote about Sayed and he was welcomed by all scientific forums. “But unfortunately I have experienced neglect in Egypt on the part of both the media and the government represented by the Ministry of Scientific Research,” Sayed added. He said that many countries had offered to finance his research, among them Iran. “But I insisted that my country should benefit from this project, especially as it is not costly and does not require high technology.” At the Ted Ex conference in Tanta a year ago, Sayed met the business development manager of an Egyptian company who offered to finance his research. Mohamed Gamal, 27, the business development manager who discovered Sayed, said that he had met him in Tanta when he was outlining his research. “I was very impressed, especially since this kind of research could help solve our present energy problems,” Gamal said. The company had signed a contract with Sayed and appointed him scientific manager. “We have already made an empirical reactor using Sayed's method and proven it to be successful,” Gamal said, adding that he hoped that Egyptian investors would now give more support to scientific research in Egypt. Giving more support to scientific research and supporting Egyptian scientists will help to improve the country's economy and future prospects, he said. The writer is a freelance journalist.
