N 2 gas is an effective fertilizer for bioethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis
Abstract
A nascent cellulosic ethanol industry is struggling to become cost-competitive against corn ethanol and gasoline. Millions of dollars are spent on nitrogen supplements to make up for the low nitrogen content of the cellulosic feedstock. Here we show for the first time to our knowledge that the ethanol-producing bacterium, Zymomonas mobilis, can use N2 gas in lieu of traditional nitrogen supplements. Despite being an electron-intensive process, N2 fixation by Z. mobilis did not divert electrons away from ethanol production, as the ethanol yield was greater than 97% of the theoretical maximum. In a defined medium, Z. mobilis produced ethanol 50% faster per cell and generated half the unwanted biomass when supplied N2 instead of ammonium. In a cellulosic feedstock-derived medium, Z. mobilis achieved a similar cell density and a slightly higher ethanol yield when supplied N2 instead of the industrial nitrogen supplement, corn steep liquor. We estimate that N2-utilizing Z. mobilis could save a cellulosic ethanol production facility more than $1 million/y
- Authors:
-
- Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Biology
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Contributing Org.:
- Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1235509
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1348418; OSTI ID: 1454419
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0008131
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Volume: 112 Journal Issue: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
- Publisher:
- National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; 09 BIOMASS FUELS; Zymomonas mobilis; nitrogenase; ethanol; cellulosic; biofuel
Citation Formats
Kremer, Timothy A., LaSarre, Breah, Posto, Amanda L., and McKinlay, James B. N 2 gas is an effective fertilizer for bioethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1073/pnas.1420663112.
Kremer, Timothy A., LaSarre, Breah, Posto, Amanda L., & McKinlay, James B. N 2 gas is an effective fertilizer for bioethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis. United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420663112
Kremer, Timothy A., LaSarre, Breah, Posto, Amanda L., and McKinlay, James B. Mon .
"N 2 gas is an effective fertilizer for bioethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis". United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420663112.
@article{osti_1235509,
title = {N 2 gas is an effective fertilizer for bioethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis},
author = {Kremer, Timothy A. and LaSarre, Breah and Posto, Amanda L. and McKinlay, James B.},
abstractNote = {A nascent cellulosic ethanol industry is struggling to become cost-competitive against corn ethanol and gasoline. Millions of dollars are spent on nitrogen supplements to make up for the low nitrogen content of the cellulosic feedstock. Here we show for the first time to our knowledge that the ethanol-producing bacterium, Zymomonas mobilis, can use N2 gas in lieu of traditional nitrogen supplements. Despite being an electron-intensive process, N2 fixation by Z. mobilis did not divert electrons away from ethanol production, as the ethanol yield was greater than 97% of the theoretical maximum. In a defined medium, Z. mobilis produced ethanol 50% faster per cell and generated half the unwanted biomass when supplied N2 instead of ammonium. In a cellulosic feedstock-derived medium, Z. mobilis achieved a similar cell density and a slightly higher ethanol yield when supplied N2 instead of the industrial nitrogen supplement, corn steep liquor. We estimate that N2-utilizing Z. mobilis could save a cellulosic ethanol production facility more than $1 million/y},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1420663112},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
number = 7,
volume = 112,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Mon Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420663112
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