One-pot bioprocessing: dynamics and opportunities for integrated multiproduct recovery-a review

One-pot bioprocessing (OPB) represents an integrated strategy for biomass valorization within a single reactor rather than across sequential, isolated units. By consolidating formation-stage steps that are traditionally separated, OPB can lower capital intensity and reduce intermediate losses. It may also improve carbon utilization under specific conditions compared with conventional modular biorefineries optimized around a single product. Despite these advantages, OPB has yet to achieve robust scalability. This review examines the dynamic processes governing biomass fractionation into individual constituents and biocatalytic transformation in single-reactor systems. It synthesizes recent advances in metabolic engineering, process intensification, and dynamic flux control to assess how biological network behavior, thermodynamic feasibility, and reactor-scale transport phenomena jointly constrain feasible product combinations within integrated one-pot systems. Persistent limitations arising from metabolic trade-offs, physicochemical incompatibilities, and increasing control complexity are evaluated alongside emerging enabling strategies, including dynamic metabolic regulation, hybrid one-pot architectures, and digital bioprocess twins. This work provides a data-informed framework indicating that effective one-pot bioprocess design depends on aligning biological compatibility, control capacity, and operational robustness to support adaptive and anticipatory control of multiproduct formation dynamics.