Simple Chemical Transformation of Lignocellulosic Biomass into Furans for Fuels and Chemicals

Abstract Background Mitigation of climate change requires that new routes for the production of fuels and chemicals be as oil-independent as possible. The microbial conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks into terpene-based biofuels and bioproducts represents one such route. This work builds upon previous demonstrations that the single-celled carotenogenic basidiomycete, Rhodosporidium toruloides, is a promising host for the production of terpenes from lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Results This study focuses on the optimization of production of the monoterpene 1,8-cineole and the sesquiterpene α-bisabolene in R. toruloides. The α-bisabolene titer attained in R. toruloides was found to be proportional to the copy number of the bisabolene synthase (BIS) expression cassette, which in turn influenced the expression level of several native mevalonate pathway genes. The addition of more copies of BIS under a stronger promoter resulted in production of α-bisabolene at 2.2 g/L from lignocellulosic hydrolysate in a 2-L fermenter. Production of 1,8-cineole was found to be limited by availability of the precursor geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GPP) and expression of an appropriate GPP synthase increased the monoterpene titer fourfold to 143 mg/L at bench scale. Targeted mevalonate pathway metabolite analysis suggested that 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR), mevalonate kinase (MK) and phosphomevalonate kinase (PMK) may be pathway bottlenecks are were therefore selected as targets for overexpression. Expression of HMGR, MK, and PMK orthologs and growth in an optimized lignocellulosic hydrolysate medium increased the 1,8-cineole titer an additional tenfold to 1.4 g/L. Expression of the same mevalonate pathway genes did not have as large an impact on α-bisabolene production, although the final titer was higher at 2.6 g/L. Furthermore, mevalonate pathway intermediates accumulated in the mevalonate-engineered strains, suggesting room for further improvement. Conclusions This work brings R. toruloides closer to being able to make industrially relevant quantities of terpene from lignocellulosic biomass.

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Heat and Mass Transport in Processing of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Fuels and Chemicals

Sustainable Biotechnology ◽

10.1007/978-90-481-3295-9_1 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 1-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Sridhar Viamajala ◽

Bryon S. Donohoe ◽

Stephen R. Decker ◽

Todd B. Vinzant ◽

Michael J. Selig ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Transport ◽

Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽

Heat And Mass Transport ◽

Fuels And Chemicals

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Fuels and Chemicals from Lignocellulosic Biomass: An Integrated Biorefinery Approach

Energy & Fuels ◽

10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5b00144 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 3149-3157 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Debashish Ghosh ◽

Diptarka Dasgupta ◽

Deepti Agrawal ◽

Savita Kaul ◽

Dilip Kumar Adhikari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽

Integrated Biorefinery ◽

Fuels And Chemicals

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A thermochemical–biochemical hybrid processing of lignocellulosic biomass for producing fuels and chemicals

Biotechnology Advances ◽

10.1016/j.biotechadv.2015.10.006 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 33 (8) ◽

pp. 1799-1813 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Yanwen Shen ◽

Laura Jarboe ◽

Robert Brown ◽

Zhiyou Wen

Keyword(s):

Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽

Fuels And Chemicals

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Fuels and Chemicals from Lignocellulosic Biomass

Natural and Artificial Photosynthesis ◽

10.1002/9781118659892.ch16 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 435-455 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ian M. O'hara ◽

Zhanying Zhang ◽

Philip A. Hobson ◽

Mark D. Harrison ◽

Sagadevan G. Mundree ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽

Fuels And Chemicals

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Role of Acid Catalysis in the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Fuels and Chemicals

The Role of Catalysis for the Sustainable Production of Bio-fuels and Bio-chemicals ◽

10.1016/b978-0-444-56330-9.00008-5 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 261-288 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Elif Gürbüz ◽

Jesse Q. Bond ◽

James A. Dumesic ◽

Yuriy Román-Leshkov

Keyword(s):

Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽

Acid Catalysis ◽

Fuels And Chemicals

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Production of γ-valerolactone from lignocellulosic biomass for sustainable fuels and chemicals supply

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.209 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 608-620 ◽

Cited By ~ 147

Author(s):

Xing Tang ◽

Xianhai Zeng ◽

Zheng Li ◽

Lei Hu ◽

Yong Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽

Fuels And Chemicals ◽

Sustainable Fuels

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Catalytic Processes For Lignin Valorization into Fuels and Chemicals (Aromatics)

Current Catalysis ◽

10.2174/2211544708666190124112830 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 20-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Maria Ventura ◽

Marcelo E. Domine ◽

Marvin Chávez-Sifontes

Keyword(s):

Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Structural Characteristics ◽

Paper Industry ◽

Efficient Production ◽

Renewable Raw Materials ◽

Platform Chemicals ◽

Wide Range ◽

Fuels And Chemicals ◽

Catalytic Processes

Valorization of lignocellulosic biomass becomes a sustainable alternative against the constant depletion and environmental problems of fossil sources necessary for the production of chemicals and fuels. In this context, a wide range of renewable raw materials can be obtained from lignocellulosic biomass in both polymeric (i.e. cellulose, starch, lignin) and monomeric (i.e. sugars, polyols, phenols) forms. Lignin and its derivatives are interesting platform chemicals for industry, although mainly due to its refractory characteristics its use has been less considered compared to other biomass fractions. To take advantage of the potentialities of lignin, it is necessary to isolate it from the cellulose/ hemicellulosic fraction, and then apply depolymerization processes; the overcoming of technical limitations being a current issue of growing interest for many research groups. In this review, significant data related to the structural characteristics of different types of commercial lignins are presented, also including extraction and isolation processes from biomass, and industrial feedstocks obtained as residues from paper industry under different treatments. The review mainly focuses on the different depolymerization processes (hydrolysis, hydrogenolysis, hydrodeoxygenation, pyrolysis) up to now developed and investigated analyzing the different hydrocarbons and aromatic derivatives obtained in each case, as well as the interesting reactions some of them may undergo. Special emphasis is done on the development of new catalysts and catalytic processes for the efficient production of fuels and chemicals from lignin. The possibilities of applications for lignin and its derivatives in new industrial processes and their integration into the biorefinery of the future are also assessed.

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