Biotech Updates

Direct Bacterial Conversion of Cellulose to Advanced Biofuel Reported

March 11, 2011

http://www.ornl.gov/ornlhome/print/press_release_print.cfm?ReleaseNumber=mr20110307-00 
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=497
(full access to journal article may require subscription or payment)
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/AEM.02454-10v1?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Clostridium+Cellulolyticum+for+Isobutanol+Production+&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles and the Bioenergy Research Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (United States) report the direct conversion of cellulose into an advanced biofuel, isobutanol. This is considered to be an important development in the quest for more cost-effective technologies for biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass.

Conventionally, biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass involves a series of steps which break down the cellulose molecules before they could be further processed by microorganisms to biofuels. Presently, ethanol is the main biofuel produced from lignocellulosic biomass. However, the biofuel of the future is seen to be butanol or isobutanol because their fuel properties are better than ethanol.

The new method is seen to significantly reduce the cost of advanced biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass, because the pretreatment step is made unnecessary. The new direct bacterial conversion process of cellulose to isobutanol involves the use of a bacterium, Clostridium cellulolyticum, which has been ‘metabolically engineered" to divert a metabolic pathway toward isobutanol production. The full results of the study are published in the journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (URL above).