Techno-economic analysis of the industrial production of a low-cost enzyme using E. coli: the case of recombinant beta-glucosidase

Autor(es)

Ferreira, Rafael da Gama ^[1] ; Azzoni, Adriano Rodrigues ^[1] ; Freitas, Sindelia ^{[2, 3]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Politecn, Dept Engn Quim, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Fac Engn Quim, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Ctr Nacl Pesquisa Energia & Mat, Lab Ciencia Tecnol & Bioetanol, Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS; v. 11, MAR 29 2018.
• Citações Web of Science: 8

Resumo

Background: The enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars is a promising approach for producing renewable fuels and chemicals. However, the cost and efficiency of the fungal enzyme cocktails that are normally employed in these processes remain a significant bottleneck. A potential route to increase hydrolysis yields and thereby reduce the hydrolysis costs would be to supplement the fungal enzymes with their lacking enzymatic activities, such as beta-glucosidase. In this context, it is not clear from the literature whether recombinant E. coli could be a cost-effective platform for the production of some of these low-value enzymes, especially in the case of on-site production. Here, we present a conceptual design and techno-economic evaluation of the production of a low-cost industrial enzyme using recombinant E. coli. Results: In a simulated baseline scenario for beta-glucosidase demand in a hypothetical second-generation ethanol (2G) plant in Brazil, we found that the production cost (316 US\$/kg) was higher than what is commonly assumed in the literature for fungal enzymes, owing especially to the facility-dependent costs (45%) and to consumables (23%) and raw materials (25%). Sensitivity analyses of process scale, inoculation volume, and volumetric productivity indicated that optimized conditions may promote a dramatic reduction in enzyme cost and also revealed the most relevant factors affecting production costs. Conclusions: Despite the considerable technical and economic uncertainties that surround 2G ethanol and the large-scale production of low-cost recombinant enzymes, this work sheds light on some relevant questions and supports future studies in this field. In particular, we conclude that process optimization, on many fronts, may strongly reduce the costs of E. coli recombinant enzymes, in the context of tailor-made enzymatic cocktails for 2G ethanol production. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 10/08089-2 - Desenvolvimento de uma plataforma de expressão, baseada em E. coli, para a produção de enzimas envolvidas na hidrólise de biomassas lignocelulósicas
• Beneficiário: Sindelia Freitas Azzoni
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Jovens Pesquisadores
• Processo FAPESP: 14/13974-6 - Desenvolvimento e avaliação in silico de uma plataforma de expressão baseada em E. coli para a produção de enzimas envolvidas na degradação de biomassa lignocelulósica
• Beneficiário: Rafael da Gama Ferreira
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado Direto