Renewable and tuneable bio-LPG blends derived from amino acids
Mohamed Amer1, Robin Hoeven1, Paul Kelly1
1EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK.
Biotechnology for Biofuels
|July 21, 2020
Summary
Researchers engineered microbial pathways to convert amino acids into bio-LPG (bio-liquefied petroleum gas), a sustainable fuel. Stable Halomonas strains enable non-sterile, field-based production of propane, butane, and isobutane blends.
Area of Science:
- Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering
- Microbial biotechnology
- Renewable energy and biofuels
Background:
- Microbial biorefineries offer sustainable routes to bio-liquefied petroleum gas (bio-LPG) from waste.
- Previous methods utilized fatty acid photodecarboxylase for propane production from butyric acid.
- Halomonas strains enable bio-LPG production under non-sterile conditions using waste biomass.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer novel microbial pathways for bio-LPG production using amino acids as precursors.
- To develop next-generation pathways for producing propane, butane, and isobutane blends.
- To utilize robust microbial chassis like Halomonas for sustainable fuel production.
Main Methods:
- Designed and implemented multiple amino acid-derived pathways in E. coli.
- Utilized branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase and fatty acid photodecarboxylase for alkane gas synthesis.
- Transferred engineered pathways into Halomonas strain TQ10 for fermentative production.
Main Results:
- Engineered pathways in E. coli successfully produced propane, isobutane, and butane from valine, leucine, and isoleucine, respectively.
- A pathway utilizing branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase and fatty acid photodecarboxylase showed highest alkane gas yields.
- Stable, inducible, and constitutive bio-LPG production pathways were integrated into Halomonas, achieving production for up to 7 days.
Conclusions:
- Developed novel microbial pathways for producing clean-burning bio-LPG fuels from amino acids.
- Demonstrated the potential of stable Halomonas production strains for field-based, non-sterile bio-LPG generation.
- Highlighted the feasibility of using amino acids as a sustainable feedstock for biofuel production.
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