Title: Accumulation of high-value bioproducts in planta can improve the economics of advanced biofuels

Abstract

Coproduction of high-value bioproducts at biorefineries is a key factor in making biofuels more cost-competitive. One strategy for generating coproducts is to directly engineer bioenergy crops to accumulate bioproductsin plantathat can be fractionated and recovered at biorefineries. Here, we develop quantitative insights into the relationship between bioproduct market value and target accumulation rates by investigating a set of industrially relevant compounds already extracted from plant sources with a wide range of market prices and applications, including < $$\$$ 10$. /kg (limonene, latex, and polyhydroxybutyrate [PHB]), $$\$$ 10$ to $$\$$ 100$/kg (cannabidiol), and >$$\$$ 100$/kg (artemisinin). These compounds are used to identify a range of mass fraction thresholds required to achieve net economic benefits for biorefineries and the additional amounts needed to reach a target $2.50/gal biofuel selling price, using cellulosic ethanol production as a test case. Bioproduct market prices and recovery costs determine the accumulation threshold; we find that moderate- to high-value compounds (i.e., cannabidiol and artemisinin) offer net economic benefits at accumulation rates of just 0.01% dry weight (dwt) to 0.02 dwt%. Lower-value compounds, including limonene, latex, and PHB, require at least an order-of-magnitude greater accumulation to overcome additional extraction and recovery costs (0.3 to 1.2 dwt%). We also find that a diversified approach is critical. For example, global artemisinin demand could be met with fewer than 10 biorefineries, while global demand for latex is equivalent to nearly 180 facilities. Our results provide a roadmap for future plant metabolic engineering efforts aimed at increasing the value derived from bioenergy crops.

Authors:

Yang, Minliang ;

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-4670-7947"

Baral, Nawa Raj ;

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Baral, Nawa Raj"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-0942-9183"

Simmons, Blake A. ;

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-1332-1810"

Mortimer, Jenny C. ;

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Mortimer, Jenny C."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-6624-636X"

Shih, Patrick M. ;

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Shih, Patrick M."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-2119-3345"

Scown, Corinne D.

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Scown, Corinne D."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-2078-1126"

Publication Date:

Fri Mar 27 00:00:00 EDT 2020

Research Org.:

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

OSTI Identifier:

1606627

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1609121

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC02-05CH11231

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: 117 Journal Issue: 15; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424

Publisher:

National Academy of Sciences

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

09 BIOMASS FUELS; in planta accumulation; bioproduct; technoeconomic analysis; bioenergycrop; biofuel