18
Improved Conversion of Cellulose Waste to
Ethanol Using a Dual Bioreactor System--Technova Corporation,
Dr. Anagi Balachandra, Principal Investigator, juelu@technovacorp.com
Ms. Farangis Jamzadeh,
Business Official, tchnv@aol.com
DOE Grant No. DE‑FG02‑07ER84872
Amount:
$749,951
Inedible
plant materials such as grass and corn stover
represent abundant renewable natural resources that can be transformed into biofuel. Although
the enzymatic conversion of biomass to sugars represents an attractive means
for this conversion, a number of problems have inhibited its use: the use of incomplete synergistic enzymes,
end-product inhibition, and adsorption and loss of enzymes necessitating their
use in large quantities. This project
will develop a defined consortium of natural microorganisms that will efficiently
breakdown biomass to energy-rich soluble sugars, and convert them to
cleaner-burning ethanol fuel. In
addition, a novel biocatalytic hybrid reactor system,
dedicated to this bioprocess, will be developed. Phase I successfully identified and enriched
a synergistic bacterial consortium capable of effectively degrading inedible
plant fibers. A streamlined bioreactor
system utilizing a newly developed nano-biocarrier
with enhanced catalyst site density also was developed, and lignocellulose
saccharification was accomplished with continuous
removal of sugar. Phase II will involve
the further optimization of cell growth conditions and a validation of the
effectiveness of the nano-biocarriers in enzyme
immobilization. Also in Phase II, the
design of the bioreactor system will be modified to maximize sugar yield, a
continuous fermentation process will be integrated into the system to convert
sugars to ethanol, and a prototype reactor system will be developed.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by
the awardee: The technology should enable the
development of alternative feedstock pathways for the production of biofuels and large-scale commodity chemicals. The global biofuel
market was estimated at $15.7 billion in 2005, and is projected to grow by a
factor of three by 2015.