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Carbon-negative production of acetone and isopropanol by gas fermentation at industrial pilot scale

Journal Article · · Nature Biotechnology
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  1. LanzaTech, Inc., Skokie, IL (United States)
  2. Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
  3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  5. LanzaTech, Inc., Skokie, IL (United States); Northwestern Univ.,Chicago, IL (United States)
Many industrial chemicals that are produced from fossil resources could be manufactured more sustainably through fermentation. In this work, we describe the development of a carbon-negative fermentation route to producing the industrially important chemicals acetone and isopropanol from abundant, low-cost waste gas feedstocks, such as industrial emissions and syngas. Using a combinatorial pathway library approach, we first mined a historical industrial strain collection for superior enzymes that we used to engineer the autotrophic acetogen Clostridium autoethanogenum. Next, we used omics analysis, kinetic modeling and cell-free prototyping to optimize flux. Finally, we scaled-up our optimized strains for continuous production at rates of up to ~3 g/L/h and ~90% selectivity. Life cycle analysis confirmed a negative carbon footprint for the products. Unlike traditional production processes, which result in release of greenhouse gases, our process fixes carbon. These results show that engineered acetogens enable sustainable, high-efficiency, high-selectivity chemicals production. We expect that our approach can be readily adapted to a wide range of commodity chemicals.
Research Organization:
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; AC05-00OR22725; EE0007566; SC0018249
OSTI ID:
1846527
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2298962
Journal Information:
Nature Biotechnology, Journal Name: Nature Biotechnology Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 40; ISSN 1087-0156
Publisher:
Springer NatureCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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