Leveraging lignocellulosic hydrolysates for sustainable methyl ketone production

Medium chain-methyl ketones are molecules with high energy content and various industrial applications. So far, biotechnological methyl ketone production was performed with glucose as a carbon source in minimal media, which is often not the best choice in terms of achieving a sustainable and cost-efficient bioprocess. We evaluated the application of lignocellulosic hydrolysates as a carbon source derived from agricultural waste streams that do not compete with food production. Notably, we demonstrate that methyl ketone production is feasible from both the cellulosic and hemicellulosic fractions. In bioreactor cultivations, the product yield with the cellulosic hydrolysate exceeded the yield obtained from glucose minimal media by more than 10%. These results indicate that the use of alternative carbon sources for methyl ketone production is promising to establish an economic and ecologic bioprocess.