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Wowra K, Hegel E, Scharf A, Grünberger A, Rosenthal K. Estimating environmental impacts of early-stage bioprocesses. Trends Biotechnol 2023; 41:1199-1212. [PMID: 37188575 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
The use of bioprocesses in industrial production promises resource- and energy-efficient processes starting from renewable, nonfossil feedstocks. Thus, the environmental benefits must be demonstrated, ideally in the early development phase with standardized methods such as life cycle assessment (LCA). Herein we discuss selected LCA studies of early-stage bioprocesses, highlighting their potential and contribution to estimating environmental impacts and decision support in bioprocess development. However, LCAs are rarely performed among bioprocess engineers due to challenges such as data availability and process uncertainties. To address this issue, recommendations are provided for conducting LCAs of early-stage bioprocesses. Opportunities are identified to facilitate future applicability, for example, by establishing dedicated bioprocess databases that could enable the use of LCAs as standard tools for bioprocess engineers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karoline Wowra
- Subdivision Biotechnology, Dechema e.V., Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Esther Hegel
- Subdivision Biotechnology, Dechema e.V., Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Andreas Scharf
- Subdivision Biotechnology, Dechema e.V., Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Alexander Grünberger
- Microsystems in Bioprocess Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering in Life Sciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Katrin Rosenthal
- School of Science, Constructor University, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany.
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2
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Virklund A, Jensen SI, Nielsen AT, Woodley JM. Combining genetic engineering and bioprocess concepts for improved phenylpropanoid production. Biotechnol Bioeng 2023; 120:613-628. [PMID: 36418654 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The group of natural aromatic compounds known as phenylpropanoids has diverse applications, but current methods of production which are largely based on synthesis from petrochemicals or extraction from agricultural biomass are unsustainable. Bioprocessing is a promising alternative, but improvements in production titers and rates are required to make this method profitable. Here the recent advances in genetic engineering and bioprocess concepts for the production of phenylpropanoids are presented for the purpose of identifying successful strategies, including adaptive laboratory evolution, enzyme engineering, in-situ product removal, and biocatalysis. The pros and cons of bacterial and yeast hosts for phenylpropanoid production are discussed, also in the context of different phenylpropanoid targets and bioprocess concepts. Finally, some broad recommendations are made regarding targets for continued improvement and areas requiring specific attention from researchers to further improve production titers and rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Virklund
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Sheila I Jensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Alex T Nielsen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - John M Woodley
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
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3
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Winter B, Meys R, Sternberg A, Bardow A. Sugar-to-What? An Environmental Merit Order Curve for Biobased Chemicals and Plastics. ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING 2022; 10:15648-15659. [PMID: 36507094 PMCID: PMC9727924 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c03275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The chemical industry aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by adopting biomass as a renewable carbon feedstock. However, biomass is a limited resource. Thus, biomass should preferentially be used in processes that most reduce GHG emissions. However, a lack of harmonization in current life cycle assessment (LCA) literature makes the identification of efficient processes difficult. In this study, 46 fermentation processes from literature are harmonized and analyzed on the basis of their GHG reduction compared with fossil benchmarks. The GHG reduction per amount of sugar used is defined as Sugar-to-X efficiency and used as a performance metric in the following. The analyzed processes span a wide range of Sugar-to-X efficiencies from -3.3 to 6.7 kg of CO2 equiv per kg of sugar input. Diverting sugar from bioethanol production for fuels to the fermentation and bioconversion processes with the highest Sugar-to-X efficiency could reduce the chemical industry's GHG emissions by an additional 130 MT of CO2 equiv without requiring any more biobased feedstocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedikt Winter
- Institute
for Technical Thermodynamics, RWTH Aachen
University, Schinkelstr. 8, 52062Aachen, Germany
- Energy
and Process System Engineering, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, 8092Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Raoul Meys
- Institute
for Technical Thermodynamics, RWTH Aachen
University, Schinkelstr. 8, 52062Aachen, Germany
| | - André Sternberg
- Fraunhofer
Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstraße 2, 79110Freiburg, Germany
| | - André Bardow
- Institute
for Technical Thermodynamics, RWTH Aachen
University, Schinkelstr. 8, 52062Aachen, Germany
- Institute
of Energy and Climate Research - Energy Systems Engineering (IEK-10), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52428Jülich, Germany
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4
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Carruthers DN, Lee TS. Translating advances in microbial bioproduction to sustainable biotechnology. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:968437. [PMID: 36082166 PMCID: PMC9445250 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.968437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Advances in synthetic biology have radically changed our ability to rewire microorganisms and significantly improved the scalable production of a vast array of drop-in biopolymers and biofuels. The success of a drop-in bioproduct is contingent on market competition with petrochemical analogues and weighted upon relative economic and environmental metrics. While the quantification of comparative trade-offs is critical for accurate process-level decision making, the translation of industrial ecology to synthetic biology is often ambiguous and assessment accuracy has proven challenging. In this review, we explore strategies for evaluating industrial biotechnology through life cycle and techno-economic assessment, then contextualize how recent developments in synthetic biology have improved process viability by expanding feedstock availability and the productivity of microbes. By juxtaposing biological and industrial constraints, we highlight major obstacles between the disparate disciplines that hinder accurate process evaluation. The convergence of these disciplines is crucial in shifting towards carbon neutrality and a circular bioeconomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- David N. Carruthers
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Taek Soon Lee
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Taek Soon Lee,
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5
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Comparing in planta accumulation with microbial routes to set targets for a cost-competitive bioeconomy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2122309119. [PMID: 35858445 PMCID: PMC9335188 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2122309119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The establishment of a carbon-negative bioeconomy that eliminates the need for crude oil will require a range of bioproducts. Accumulating value-added bioproducts directly in bioenergy crops can be an important strategy for enabling economically competitive biorefineries that produce a range of renewable fuels and replacements for petrochemicals. However, microbial chassis may have advantages over plants for some products. To date, there has been no systematic analysis aimed at comparing microbial production routes with in planta accumulation to establish breakeven targets for yields and accumulation rates. In this study, we provide generalizable insights into these breakeven points by exploring four bioproducts (4-hydroxybenzoic acid [4-HBA], 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylic acid [PDC], muconic acid, and catechol) currently produced both in plants and by microbial hosts. Plants and microbes share common metabolic pathways for producing a range of bioproducts that are potentially foundational to the future bioeconomy. However, in planta accumulation and microbial production of bioproducts have never been systematically compared on an economic basis to identify optimal routes of production. A detailed technoeconomic analysis of four exemplar compounds (4-hydroxybenzoic acid [4-HBA], catechol, muconic acid, and 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylic acid [PDC]) is conducted with the highest reported yields and accumulation rates to identify economically advantaged platforms and breakeven targets for plants and microbes. The results indicate that in planta mass accumulation ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 dry weight % (dwt%) can achieve costs comparable to microbial routes operating at 40 to 55% of maximum theoretical yields. These yields and accumulation rates are sufficient to be cost competitive if the products are sold at market prices consistent with specialty chemicals ($20 to $50/kg). Prices consistent with commodity chemicals will require an order-of-magnitude-greater accumulation rate for plants and/or yields nearing theoretical maxima for microbial production platforms. This comparative analysis revealed that the demonstrated accumulation rates of 4-HBA (3.2 dwt%) and PDC (3.0 dwt%) in engineered plants vastly outperform microbial routes, even if microbial platforms were to reach theoretical maximum yields. Their recovery and sale as part of a lignocellulosic biorefinery could enable biofuel prices to be competitive with petroleum. Muconic acid and catechol, in contrast, are currently more attractive when produced microbially using a sugar feedstock. Ultimately, both platforms can play an important role in replacing fossil-derived products.
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Rioux B, Combes J, Woolley JM, Rodrigues NDN, Mention MM, Stavros VG, Allais F. From Biomass-Derived p-Hydroxycinnamic Acids to Novel Sustainable and Non-Toxic Phenolics-Based UV-Filters: A Multidisciplinary Journey. Front Chem 2022; 10:886367. [PMID: 35864863 PMCID: PMC9294603 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.886367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Although organic UV-filters are extensively used in cosmetics to protect consumers from the deleterious effects of solar UV radiation-exposure, they suffer from some major drawbacks such as their fossil origin and their toxicity to both humans and the environment. Thus, finding sustainable and non-toxic UV-filters is becoming a topic of great interest for the cosmetic industry. A few years ago, sinapoyl malate was shown to be a powerful naturally occurring UV-filter. Building on these findings, we decided to design and optimize an entire value chain that goes from biomass to innovative biobased and non-toxic lignin-derived UV-filters. This multidisciplinary approach relies on: 1) The production of phenolic synthons using either metabolite extraction from biomass or their bioproduction through synthetic biology/fermentation/in stream product recovery; 2) their functionalization using green chemistry to access sinapoyl malate and analogues; 3) the study of their UV-filtering activity, their photostability, their biological properties; and 4) their photodynamics. This mini-review aims at demonstrating that combining biotechnology, green chemistry, downstream process and photochemistry is a powerful approach to transform biomass and, in particular lignins, into high value-added innovative UV-filters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Rioux
- URD Agro-Biotechnologies Industrielles (ABI), CEBB, AgroParisTech, Pomacle, France
| | - Jeanne Combes
- URD Agro-Biotechnologies Industrielles (ABI), CEBB, AgroParisTech, Pomacle, France
| | - Jack M. Woolley
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingtom
| | - Natércia d. N. Rodrigues
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingtom
- Lipotec SAU, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Matthieu M. Mention
- URD Agro-Biotechnologies Industrielles (ABI), CEBB, AgroParisTech, Pomacle, France
| | | | - Florent Allais
- URD Agro-Biotechnologies Industrielles (ABI), CEBB, AgroParisTech, Pomacle, France
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7
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Biotechnological production of specialty aromatic and aromatic-derivative compounds. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2022; 38:80. [PMID: 35338395 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-022-03263-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Aromatic compounds are an important class of chemicals with different industrial applications. They are usually produced by chemical synthesis from petroleum-derived feedstocks, such as toluene, xylene and benzene. However, we are now facing threats from the excessive use of fossil fuels causing environmental problems such as global warming. Furthermore, fossil resources are not infinite, and will ultimately be depleted. To cope with these problems, the sustainable production of aromatic chemicals from renewable non-food biomass is urgent. With this in mind, the search for alternative methodologies to produce aromatic compounds using low-cost and environmentally friendly processes is becoming more and more important. Microorganisms are able to produce aromatic and aromatic-derivative compounds from sugar-based carbon sources. Metabolic engineering strategies as well as bioprocess optimization enable the development of microbial cell factories capable of efficiently producing aromatic compounds. This review presents current breakthroughs in microbial production of specialty aromatic and aromatic-derivative products, providing an overview on the general strategies and methodologies applied to build microbial cell factories for the production of these compounds. We present and describe some of the current challenges and gaps that must be overcome in order to render the biotechnological production of specialty aromatic and aromatic-derivative attractive and economically feasible at industrial scale.
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Flourat AL, Combes J, Bailly-Maitre-Grand C, Magnien K, Haudrechy A, Renault JH, Allais F. Accessing p-Hydroxycinnamic Acids: Chemical Synthesis, Biomass Recovery, or Engineered Microbial Production? CHEMSUSCHEM 2021; 14:118-129. [PMID: 33058548 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202002141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
p-Hydroxycinnamic acids (i. e., p-coumaric, ferulic, sinapic, and caffeic acids) are phenolic compounds involved in the biosynthesis pathway of lignin. These naturally occurring molecules not only exhibit numerous attractive properties, such as antioxidant, anti-UV, and anticancer activities, but they also have been used as building blocks for the synthesis of tailored monomers and functional additives for the food/feed, cosmetic, and plastics sectors. Despite their numerous high value-added applications, the sourcing of p-hydroxycinnamic acids is not ensured at the industrial scale except for ferulic acid, and their production cost remains too high for commodity applications. These compounds can be either chemically synthesized or extracted from lignocellulosic biomass, and recently their production through bioconversion emerged. Herein the different strategies described in the literature to produce these valuable molecules are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amandine L Flourat
- URD Agro-Biotechnologies Industrielles (ABI), CEBB, AgroParisTech, 51110, Pomacle, France
| | - Jeanne Combes
- URD Agro-Biotechnologies Industrielles (ABI), CEBB, AgroParisTech, 51110, Pomacle, France
| | | | - Kévin Magnien
- URD Agro-Biotechnologies Industrielles (ABI), CEBB, AgroParisTech, 51110, Pomacle, France
| | - Arnaud Haudrechy
- Institut de Chimie Moléculaire de Reims (ICMR), UMR 7312, SFR Condorcet FR CNRS 3417, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, F-51097, REIMS Cedex, France
| | - Jean-Hugues Renault
- Institut de Chimie Moléculaire de Reims (ICMR), UMR 7312, SFR Condorcet FR CNRS 3417, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, F-51097, REIMS Cedex, France
| | - Florent Allais
- URD Agro-Biotechnologies Industrielles (ABI), CEBB, AgroParisTech, 51110, Pomacle, France
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9
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Schwanemann T, Otto M, Wierckx N, Wynands B. Pseudomonasas Versatile Aromatics Cell Factory. Biotechnol J 2020; 15:e1900569. [DOI: 10.1002/biot.201900569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Schwanemann
- Institute of Bio‐ and Geosciences, IBG‐1: Biotechnology Forschungszentrum Jülich, GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany
| | - Maike Otto
- Institute of Bio‐ and Geosciences, IBG‐1: Biotechnology Forschungszentrum Jülich, GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany
| | - Nick Wierckx
- Institute of Bio‐ and Geosciences, IBG‐1: Biotechnology Forschungszentrum Jülich, GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany
| | - Benedikt Wynands
- Institute of Bio‐ and Geosciences, IBG‐1: Biotechnology Forschungszentrum Jülich, GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany
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