 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
The Culinary Center of the Graphics Universe!
National Renewable Energy Labratory
Cellulase Animation
National Renewable Energy Labratories of Golden,CO, came to Pixel Kitchen to have us create an animated visulization of the naturally occuring enzymes which break down cellulose fiber into glucose molecules. NREL scientist are studying the enzymes to improve the efficiency, in order to take advantage of large amounts of agriculturual and lumbering wastes. Ultimately the glucose is further refined into ethanol for addition to our gasoline.
The process starts with the introduction of dead
wood. Immediately, enzymes start to do their work to decompose that wood.
The first step in the cellulasesis process, is the xxx enzyme locating
a cellulose strand. The strand is pulled up into the enzyme which applies
a reaction which breaks a bond connecting the molecules of the strand.
(see image above)
The next step is the introduction of another enzyme, xxx. Its job is to search out the ends of the broken cellulose strands. xxx lines up and settles down onto the strand end and extracts the strand from the substrate. The strand end is directed into an opening in the enzyme body were another reaction breaks every other glucose molecule from the strand. (see image to right)
The glucose
molecules proceed onto encounter other enzymes which cause other reactions
which move the process forward, but that is the next story. In that story
we have shown the trip of the glucose molecule as it finds its way to
a yeast cell. We follow the molecule as it passes through the cell wall
and makes its way around the interior of the cell. Eventually through
a dozen reactions, the glucose molecule is broken down into ethanol, which
passes back throuth the cell wall.
Not only is this a informational program, but the design and animation process is used by the scientists to visually test ideas about unknown aspects of the process. The 3D visualization of complex systems serve the viewer with visual information regardless of scale and environment.