This Research Topic is part of our Editor's Feature for the month of November
As the reality of the finite nature of fossil-derived fuels and chemicals sets in, coupled with the need to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the development and production of biobased fuels and chemicals have gained the attention of scientists, engineers, and policymakers as a potential strategy for simultaneous maintenance of energy security and mitigation of greenhouse gases in the environment. Bio-derived fuels and chemicals include but are not limited to ethanol, butanol, propanol, butanediol, propanediol, lactic acid, succinic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, H2, and CH4. Food substrates such as corn and sugarcane are the two major renewable substrates that are currently used in enormous quantities to produce bioderived fuels and chemicals. These food substrates also serve as feed and food for livestock and other consumer products, which creates competition and drives up the cost. More economical choices are non-food substrates such as lignocellulosic biomass (LB), inedible foods, and gases that are generally considered as waste. While there is a large collection of microbes that can convert substrates to different fuels and chemicals, often, metabolic engineering of these microorganisms and upscaling of the engineering process are required to obtain the target products at levels that can be economically feasible.
Indeed, the production of biobased fuels and chemicals suffers from several limitations such as low titre, productivity, and uneconomical production levels due to inadequate technologies and high substrate cost. Efficient bioconversion of LB to fuels and chemicals, however, is challenging due to the toxicity posed by lignocellulose-derived microbial inhibitory compounds (LDMICs) generated during pretreatment and hydrolysis of LB polysaccharides to monomeric sugars. Additionally, fermentative production of fuels and chemicals is mostly accompanied by the production of CO2, a greenhouse gas. Consequently, the overarching goal of the current Research Topic is to highlight the development of knowledge-based strategies that aim to resolve inter-twined issues related to non-food substrates and technological compatibility, and mitigation of greenhouse gas generation.
In this Research Topic, we are seeking research and review articles that highlight metabolic or process engineering strategies and/or combinations tailored to achieve maximum concentration of products of interest, consistent productivity, and yield. Areas to be covered include the following:
• Metabolic engineering of microorganisms to enhance the production of fuels and chemicals
• Design (modelling, simulation, and optimization) of fermentation technologies
• Understanding the effect of lignocellulose derived microbial inhibitory compounds (LDMICs) on the physiology of fermenting microorganisms
• Biohydrogen production and metabolic engineering of H2 producing microorganisms
• Syngas fermentation and process design considerations
• Syngas fermentation and metabolic engineering to enhance the conversion of CO2 to fuels and chemicals
• Biological CO2 conversion to fuels and biobased products
• Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of production of bioderived fuels and chemicals
This Research Topic is part of our Editor's Feature for the month of November
As the reality of the finite nature of fossil-derived fuels and chemicals sets in, coupled with the need to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the development and production of biobased fuels and chemicals have gained the attention of scientists, engineers, and policymakers as a potential strategy for simultaneous maintenance of energy security and mitigation of greenhouse gases in the environment. Bio-derived fuels and chemicals include but are not limited to ethanol, butanol, propanol, butanediol, propanediol, lactic acid, succinic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, H2, and CH4. Food substrates such as corn and sugarcane are the two major renewable substrates that are currently used in enormous quantities to produce bioderived fuels and chemicals. These food substrates also serve as feed and food for livestock and other consumer products, which creates competition and drives up the cost. More economical choices are non-food substrates such as lignocellulosic biomass (LB), inedible foods, and gases that are generally considered as waste. While there is a large collection of microbes that can convert substrates to different fuels and chemicals, often, metabolic engineering of these microorganisms and upscaling of the engineering process are required to obtain the target products at levels that can be economically feasible.
Indeed, the production of biobased fuels and chemicals suffers from several limitations such as low titre, productivity, and uneconomical production levels due to inadequate technologies and high substrate cost. Efficient bioconversion of LB to fuels and chemicals, however, is challenging due to the toxicity posed by lignocellulose-derived microbial inhibitory compounds (LDMICs) generated during pretreatment and hydrolysis of LB polysaccharides to monomeric sugars. Additionally, fermentative production of fuels and chemicals is mostly accompanied by the production of CO2, a greenhouse gas. Consequently, the overarching goal of the current Research Topic is to highlight the development of knowledge-based strategies that aim to resolve inter-twined issues related to non-food substrates and technological compatibility, and mitigation of greenhouse gas generation.
In this Research Topic, we are seeking research and review articles that highlight metabolic or process engineering strategies and/or combinations tailored to achieve maximum concentration of products of interest, consistent productivity, and yield. Areas to be covered include the following:
• Metabolic engineering of microorganisms to enhance the production of fuels and chemicals
• Design (modelling, simulation, and optimization) of fermentation technologies
• Understanding the effect of lignocellulose derived microbial inhibitory compounds (LDMICs) on the physiology of fermenting microorganisms
• Biohydrogen production and metabolic engineering of H2 producing microorganisms
• Syngas fermentation and process design considerations
• Syngas fermentation and metabolic engineering to enhance the conversion of CO2 to fuels and chemicals
• Biological CO2 conversion to fuels and biobased products
• Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of production of bioderived fuels and chemicals