Butanol production from eucalyptus wood: effect of glycerol on in situ detoxification of lignocellulose-derived microbial inhibitors and in silico analysis of the metabolism of Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052

• Grant number: 16/01785-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: August 01, 2016
• End date: July 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Elmer Alberto Ccopa Rivera
• Grantee: Elmer Alberto Ccopa Rivera
• Host Investigator: Thaddeus Chukwuemeka Ezeji
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Ohio State University, Columbus, United States

Abstract

The main goal of this study is to address two important bottlenecks that impede large-scale industrial production of butanol (an advanced biofuel) from eucalyptus wood, which include low sugar conversion and butanol productivity due to inhibitions caused by lignocellulose-derived microbial inhibitory compounds (LDMICs) and the fermentation product (n-butanol). To effectively tackle these issues, this project will use glycerol as an in situ detoxification agent of LDMICs in combination with in situ recovery of butanol from the fermentation broth during fermentation. The catabolism of glycerol by Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 during the fermentation of eucalyptus wood derived sugars is expected to increase the production of NAD(P)H, which the microorganism uses to transform high concentrations of LDMICs such as furfural and hydroxymethyl furfural to less inhibitory compounds. To enhance conversion of glycerol to butanol by C. beijerinckii, metabolic engineering will be used to transform the strain with a plasmid that expresses glycerol dehydrogenase (GDH) obtained from Clostridium pasteurianum, which is a microorganism recognized by its ability to use glycerol as carbon source. Compatible with this task, the in silico reconstruction of metabolic networks will be conducted to examine the effects of inhibitors on the metabolism of wild and recombinant strains of C. beijerinckii NCIMB 8052. To overcome the problem of butanol toxicity to the fermenting microorganisms, and increase butanol productivity, butanol produced during the fermentation of dilute acid pretreated eucalyptus wood and glycerol mixture will be continuously recovered real-time during fermentation by the vacuum-assisted gas stripping technology. This research proposal is linked to the ongoing FAPESP research grants 15/07097-5 and 15/50243-2 led by FEQ/UNICAMP and Ohio State University (OSU). (AU)

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RIVERA, ELMER CCOPA; YAMAKAWA, CELINA K.; SAAD, MARCELO B. W.; ATALA, DANIEL I. P.; AMBROSIO, WESLEY B.; BONOMI, ANTONIO; NOLASCO JUNIOR, JONAS; ROSSELL, CARLOS E. V.. Effect of temperature on sugarcane ethanol fermentation: Kinetic modeling and validation under very-high-gravity fermentation conditions. Biochemical Engineering Journal, v. 119, p. 42-51, MAR 15 2017. (16/01785-0)

TOVAR, LAURA PLAZAS; RIVERA, ELMER CCOPA; MARIANO, ADRIANO PINTO; WOLF MACIEL, MARIA REGINA; MACIEL FILHO, RUBENS. Prediction of overall glucose yield in hydrolysis of pretreated sugarcane bagasse using a single artificial neural network: good insight for process development. JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, v. 93, n. 4, p. 1031-1043, APR 2018. (08/57873-8, 16/01785-0, 12/10857-3)

ASSUMPCAO, DANIEL DE CASTRO; CCOPA RIVERA, ELMER ALBERTO; TOVAR, LAURA PLAZAS; EZEJI, THADDEUS CHUKWUEMEKA; MACIEL FILHO, RUBENS; MARIANO, ADRIANO PINTO. Resolving mismatches in the flexible production of ethanol and butanol from eucalyptus wood with vacuum fermentation. Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, v. 41, n. 11, p. 1651-1663, NOV 2018. (15/50243-2, 16/01785-0, 15/07097-5)

FLEIG, OLIVIA PANIZ; LOPES, EMILIA SAVIOLI; RIVERA, ELMER CCOPA; MACIEL FILHO, RUBENS; TOVAR, LAURA PLAZAS. Concept of rice husk biorefining for levulinic acid production integrating three steps: Multi-response optimization, new perceptions and limitations. Process Biochemistry, v. 65, p. 146-156, FEB 2018. (16/01785-0, 15/17592-3, 15/20630-4)

RIVERA, ELMER C.; ASSUMPCAO, DANIEL C.; KWON, HYUN J.; OKONKWO, CHRISTOPHER C.; EZEJI, THADDEUS C.; FILHO, RUBENS M.; MARIANO, ADRIANO P.. Mechanistic modeling of redox balance effects on the fermentation of eucalyptus wood-derived xylose to acetone-butanol-ethanol. Biochemical Engineering Journal, v. 190, p. 12-pg., 2023-01-01. (15/07097-5, 16/01785-0, 15/50243-2)