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Chainani Y, Bonnanzio G, Tyo KE, Broadbelt LJ. Coupling chemistry and biology for the synthesis of advanced bioproducts. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2023; 84:102992. [PMID: 37688985 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.102992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Chemical and biological syntheses can both lead to a myriad of compounds. Biology enables us to harness the metabolism of microbial cell factories to produce key target molecules from renewable biomass-derived substrates. Although bio-based feedstocks are sustainably sourced and more benign than the rapidly depleting fossil fuels that chemical processes have historically relied on, limiting pathways solely to biological reactions may not equate to a greener process overall. In fact, bioreactors rely on substantial quantities of water and can be inefficient since organisms typically operate around ambient conditions and are sensitive to perturbations in their environment. Hybridizing biosynthetic pathways with green chemistry can instead be a more potent strategy to reduce our net manufacturing footprint. Emerging chemistries have demonstrated considerable success in performing complex transformations on biological feedstocks without significant solvent use. Many of these transformations would be too slow to perform enzymatically or infeasible altogether. Here, we put forth the concept that by carefully considering the merits and drawbacks of synthetic biology and chemistry as well as one's own use case, there exist many opportunities for coupling the two. Merging these syntheses can unlock a wider suite of functional group transformations, thereby enabling future manufacturing processes to sustainably access a larger space of valuable, platform chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yash Chainani
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Geoffrey Bonnanzio
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Keith Ej Tyo
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Linda J Broadbelt
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
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Igalavithana AD, Yuan X, Attanayake CP, Wang S, You S, Tsang DCW, Nzihou A, Ok YS. Sustainable management of plastic wastes in COVID-19 pandemic: The biochar solution. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 212:113495. [PMID: 35660402 PMCID: PMC9155208 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
To prevent the COVID-19 transmission, personal protective equipment (PPE) and packaging materials have been extensively used but often managed inappropriately, generating huge amount of plastic waste. In this review, we comprehensively discussed the plastic products utilized and the types and amounts of plastic waste generated since the outbreak of COVID-19, and reviewed the potential treatments for these plastic wastes. Upcycling of plastic waste into biochar was addressed from the perspectives of both environmental protection and practical applications, which can be verified as promising materials for environmental protections and energy storages. Moreover, novel upcycling of plastic waste into biochar is beneficial to mitigate the ubiquitous plastic pollution, avoiding harmful impacts on human and ecosystem through direct and indirect micro-/nano-plastic transmission routes, and achieving the sustainable plastic waste management for value-added products, simultaneously. This suggests that the plastic waste could be treated as a valuable resource in an advanced and green manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avanthi D Igalavithana
- Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, 20400, Sri Lanka; Korea Biochar Research Centre, APRU Sustainable Waste Management & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, South Korea
| | - Xiangzhou Yuan
- Korea Biochar Research Centre, APRU Sustainable Waste Management & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, South Korea; R&D Centre, Sun Brand Industrial Inc., Jeollanam-do, 57248, South Korea
| | - Chammi P Attanayake
- Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, 20400, Sri Lanka
| | - Shujun Wang
- Korea Biochar Research Centre, APRU Sustainable Waste Management & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, South Korea; College of Water Conservancy, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Siming You
- Division of Systems, Power and Energy, James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Daniel C W Tsang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ange Nzihou
- Université de Toulouse, Mines Albi, UMR CNRS 5302, Centre RAPSODEE, Campus Jarlard, F-81013, Albi Cedex 09, France; Princeton University, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Princeton University, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Yong Sik Ok
- Korea Biochar Research Centre, APRU Sustainable Waste Management & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, South Korea.
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