Assam Information Portal


Get updates

Breakthrough in Bioethanol production from Agricultural waste

By Assam News on November 21, 2009 at 1:25 pm

With the introduction of a single bacterial gene into yeast, researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands achieved three improvements in bioethanol production from agricultural waste material: ‘More ethanol, less acetate and elimination of the major by-product glycerol’ This week the invention was published in the scientific journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Green Fuel Bioethanol is made by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae from sugars obtained from plant biomass. This microorganism also converts such sugars into ethanol (alcohol) in beer and wine. The production of bioethanol is rapidly increasing due to the growing use of bioethanol as a car fuel. With an annual world production of 65 billion liters, bioethanol is aready the largest product of the fermentation industry

Bioethanol should of course preferably be produced from resources that do not compete with food production. For this reason, efforts are made to produce second-generation bioethanol, using agricultural residues such as wheat straw and corn stover. However, when the sugars from these raw materials are released, significant quantities of acetate are formed. Acetate can slow down or even halt bioethanol production by yeast.

Another challenge of the current bioethanol production process is that about 4% of the sugar is lost to formation of the byproduct glycerol. Glycerol formation was long considered to be an inevitable consequence of the production conditions during bioethanol production.

TU Delft researchers have now solved these issues. Yeast can, at least in theory, also convert the harmful acetate to ethanol. As it turns out, just one single gene is missing in the yeast. By introducing a single gene from the bacterium Escherichia coli, researchers of the Netherlands-based Delft University of Technology and the Kluyver Centre for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation enabled this conversion of acetate to ethanol by yeast. This replaced the normal role of glycerol so efficiently that key genes in glycerol production could be removed, thus completely abolishing glycerol production.

The invention is enthusiastically summarized by the principal researcher Jack Pronk: ‘In the laboratory, this simple genetic modification kills three birds with one stone: no glycerol formation, higher ethanol yields and consumption of toxic acetate’.

For the potential billion liter ethanol gain to be realized, follow-up research on the transfer of this concept to industrial yeast strains and real-life process conditions is required. The Delft yeast researchers, who applied for a patent on their invention, hope to intensively collaborate with industrial partners to accelerate its industrial implementation.

Reference: Guadalupe Medina et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.01772-09

Source: http://www.english.tudelft.nl/



Share |

Category: Technology | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR LATEST NEWS HEADLINES VIA EMAIL

ENTER YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS:

Leave a Reply

SPECIAL FEATURES

Health and Fitness

HEALTH TIPS
Health and Fitness News and Tips.

Science

SCIENCE NEWS
Latest Science News just for You.

Photo Gallery

PHOTO GALLERY
Photo Galleries of Models and Celebrities.

Latest Articles

More Articles

Guide for Purchasing Perfect Bouquet

If you are getting married soon and want a beautiful bouquet, then here is the ways by which you can make it by yourself. The first thing while making... 

Chile earthquake death toll increases

The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday left more than 214 people dead. The death toll may rise as hundreds of people were still missing... 

Watch Assamese Videos Online

ASSAMESE VIDEOS Assam Videos: New Assamese VCDs, Bihu Videos, Zubeen Garg Videos, Old Assamese Songs etc.

Some More Articles

Popular Topics