Food security is of significant importance, both locally in the UK, and more widely across the globe. As such it is highlighted in the UK government's clean growth plan and is one of the 'Global Goals for sustainable development'. The food and drink sector council's Covid-19 recovery plan has highlighted the need to create a more resilient, cleaner and greener food system for the future. One aspect of this that has been more and more evident over recent years, relates to the banning of certain chemical pesticides. This has had the knock-on effect of leading to wide-spread crop failures. It is therefore imperative for sustainable food production that alternative strategies for agricultural pest control are established. Within this project biocleave will work towards these aims, using a biological approach which is both sustainable and maintains UK science at the cutting edge of bio-based technology development.

Green Biologics Ltd. develops fermentation technology for renewable chemical production delivering improved quality and reduced life cycle impact compared to oil-derived chemicals. In this competitive market production cost is the major success driver. Improving production economics requires process knowledge and control, which requires state of the art process analytical technologies (PAT). In PATfAB GBL will partner with Keit (IRmadillo™ FTIR spectrometer) and Electrolab, who will integrate PAT for improved process control. Two additional PAT providers, BugLab (Bugeye™ biomass monitoring technology); and Bluesens (gas monitoring technology) will support the project. Project outcomes will be deployed by GBL as an integrated process control solution in commercial plants and as an R&D tool for accelerating development. The PAT technology providers will deploy technology advances to access wider markets.

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The potential for producing renewable chemicals using fermentation hosts has gained momentum as technology for manipulating and optimising host strains has matured. In parallel, fermentation processes and downstream purification technologies have increased potential for high yields and productivities enabling companies to begin to compete commercially with ‘greener’, more sustainable pipelines that are not reliant on petrochemicals. Along with these improvements however, has come the challenge of ensuring products made through the use of synthetic microbes are accepted in the marketplace. This project takes all these factors into consideration with technical work packages designed to improve Green Biologics’ clostridial strain development technology offerings, and a responsible innovation (RRI) work package, designed to build a company framework with stakeholder engagement.

Green Biologics (GBL) is a renewable chemical company currently commissioning the first new Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) plant to be built in the USA since 1938. GBLs technology is a bacterial fermentation, converting renewable or waste feedstocks to bio-acetone and bio-butanol. Currently butanol and acetone are derived from oil but the fermentation bio-products have superior characteristics, giving them an advantage in consumer markets. GBLs strain development programme aims to deploy the same robust microbes to produce a wider range of non-native, but natural, bio-chemicals through fermentation. Dynamic Extractions (DE) and BioExtractions Wales (BEW) provide innovative solutions for the purification of chemicals from complex mixtures. DE’s chromatography method will be applied to the extraction of these example chemicals from fermentation broth and BEW will evaluate purification and (bio)chemical transformation to higher value products. A critical need in developing new technologies is ensuring that end-user views and current market dynamics are taken into account. A social science intern will explore stakeholder perspectives in order to gauge the social feasibility of this work.

Green Biologics Ltd, a renewable chemical company which is now producing the only commercially available renewable acetone and butanol globally, is teaming up with innovative SMEs Dynamic Extractions (DE) and BioExtractions Wales (BEW) to develop a manufacturing process for the biological production of a medically and chemically important biochemical. Supported by the University of Exeter (responsible research), E4tech (life cycle analysis) and Keit (process analysis and control) the team aim to develop a process for production that uses renewable feedstocks and processing, reduces the environmental impact of manufacture and is made using methodology that is acceptable to society at large. The project will apply CLEAVE™, a GBL-developed technology that revolutionises the use of clostridial bacteria for the production of a wide range of biochemicals. GBL will develop the microbes and manufacturing process with technology developed by DE and BEW being used to purify the product and develop new markets based on promoting sustainability.

Green Biologics is an industrial biotech company, currently re-commercialising the clostridial ABE fermentation process for the production of n-butanol and acetone from renewable and sustainable feedstocks. There are many challenges inherent in this commercialisation process, not just with the complexities of engineering and process design but also with ensuring the clostridial strains used exhibit robust phenotypes such as resistance to phage infections and ability to out compete microbes indigenous to the plant environment. This project aims to use an innovative and environmentally reponsible alternative approach to the ‘easy fix’ solution of using antibiotics by instead taking advantage of bacteriocins: small peptides produced by a number of bacterial strains to destroy competing microbes in an environmental space.

There is large global demand for acetone for use as a solvent and in production of important chemicals and materials including transparent plastics such as methyl methacrylate (MMA). Acetone is currently produced by reacting petro-chemicals propylene and benzene, hence its price is volatile and the process is unsustainable. GBL are experts in clostridial (non-pathogenic) fermentation for production of the solvent n-butanol, which generates some acetone as a co-product. We (GBL and MMA-producer Lucite) undertook an InnovateUK business study to investigate potential for a process making solely acetone, and determined that this would be economically and technologically feasible. We want to use our expertise in clostridial biology to develop a strain of clostridia having high yield of acetone, necessary for the commercial process. Lucite will explore matters relating to use of bio-acetone for bio-MMA production.

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Awaiting Public Project Summary

It is generally accepted that the manufacturing industry, and the chemical industry in particular, needs to improve both the sustainability and the environmental impact of its products. However, although improved life cycle analysis (LCA) is important, the production cost and quality of renewable chemicals needs to be comparable with existing chemical products on the market. GBL is a UK-based industrial biotechnology company focussed on the conversion of sustainable feedstocks to produce renewable chemicals with a lower environmental impact than conventional fossil-carbon derived chemicals.Solvent producing Clostridia are excellent fermentation hosts for biobutanol and acetone but in this project we plan to develop novel Clostridial strains for different chemical products. We will capitalise on proprietary and ground breaking technology for genetic modification to develop novel Clostridial strains that ferment new substrates and produce high value speciality chemicals and food ingredients.

In this project, the partners (GBL and Lucite) will determine the technical feasibility of engineering Clostridia to produce bioacetone in high yield (as opposed to biobutanol) using fermentation. The partners will also determine the economic feasibility and commercial viability of producing acetone as the sole fermentation product. It is envisaged that any loss in yield will be compensated for by savings in purification (acetone is highly volatile and relatively easy to recover from the fermentation broth).

The key challenge in this project is to demonstrate a fermentation process to produce biobutanol that can compete on price and quality with the incumbent petrochemical equivalent. Not only do we want to compete economically, we also want to demonstrate technology that can be deployed in the EU and Noth America using cellulosic feedstocks that are readily available (sustainable) and do not impact on food supply. The resulting biobutanol will have significant environmental and resource benefits . We aim to do this by integrating advanced, proven and innovative process technology to convert cellulosic feedstocks to sugar and then fermenting the sugar to biobutanol using technology developed by Borregaard and Green Biologics Ltd., respectively. Lucite will validate biobutanol for a chemical applications. The deliverables include a demonstration at pilot scale of the technical feasibility, modelling to determine the economic feasibility at commercial scale and full product life cycle assessment of primary energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Biobutanol is an important chemical intermediate used to synthesize polymers, coatings and bioplastics. Biobutanol is also an attractive advanced biofuel due to its high energy density and excellent blending characteristics with both diesel and gasoline. In this project, Green Biologics Ltd. has formed an interdisciplinary partnership with the University of Nottingham to demonstrate a novel biological manufacturing (fermentation) process for low cost biobutanol that reduces production costs. Success on the project will help reduce global dependence on fossil fuels and petrochemical feedstocks and provide new technologies to underpin the sustainable bioeconomy.

With concerns over the future of natural resources and energy security there is a growing need for the UK to develop renewable and sustainable sources of chemicals such as butanol, a key precursor in the production of paints, polymers and plastics. Bio-butanol can also be used as a biofuel, directly replacing gasoline or blended with diesel and with many advantages over ethanol. However in order for these bio-based chemicals to compete with oil derivatives we need to improve the range of cheap, sustainable feedstocks that can be fermented by solventogenic microbes, and the efficiency of this fermentation process. Current commercial processes require the use of extreme heat and harsh chemicals to convert agricultural waste material to simple fermentable sugars. This not only reduces the environmental benefits of renewables but also makes the fermentation of waste feedstocks less economic when compared with easier substrates such as starch. We are developing microbial strains that are able to use agricultural wastes that have undergone less intensive pre-treatment procedures to produce bio-butanol with high efficiency, thereby reducing the environmental impact of harsh chemical and high temperature processes and reducing the competition for food crops as fermentation substrates.

This 'Business Models Feasibility' project focuses on the identification and validation of appropriate and workable collaborative business models that enable the production of biobutanol from sustainable lignocellulosic feedstocks. GBL aims to integrate its world leading and proprietary n-butanol fermentation technology with proven cellulosic feedstock hydrolysis technology. The project will identify and evaluate new business models and monetization options that underpin successful business collaboration between GBL (butanol fermentation technology owner) and the ‘Partner’ (cellulosic hydrolysis technology owner) and the 'Facility Owner' (owner of the bichemical production facility). This 'Business Models Feasibility' project will facilitate the rapid commercial exploitation of technical demonstration work that GBL will conduct alongside this commercial feasibility study.

We aim to develp a novel bacterial host for the production of 1-butanol from renewable feedstocks. The strategy focuses on the modification of a clostridia species (Clostridium pasteurianum). This microbe has many desirable features that make it an attractive fermentation host (fast growth rates, robustness and good butanol tolerance) but suffers from a limited substrate range, relatively poor butanol yields and is notriously difficult to genetically manipulate. In this project, we will deploy advanced molecular biology tools for Clostridia to introduce synthetic metabolic pathways for starch metabolism and also for butanol production. Competing byproducts will be knocked out. The deliverable will be a novel engineered strain C. pasteurianum that ferments starch to butanol in high yield.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The production of n-butanol from fermentation of sugar using Clostridia has tremendous industrial potential (n-butanol is an important chemical intermediate for paints plastics, coatings and polymers). Butanol production via fermentation is sustainable, environmentally friendly and offers a lower cost route than chemical synthesis from oil. However, the conventional fermentation route using Clostridia suffers from low titres and volumetric productivities and a reliance on expensive (and edible) starch-based feedstocks. Commercial implementation requires novel strains with improved fermentation performance and strains capable of fermenting non-food, cellulosic feedstocks. Our aim is to develop advanced Clostridia strains. Specific deliverables include:- 1) identification and characterisation of alleles (genes) responsible for the desired tolerance traits, using genomic approaches, both in historical strains that were used commercially over four decades and in current production strains following the implementation of novel directed evolution strategies; 2) transfer of the identified alleles into current, robust production strains, together with rational metabolic engineering to improve product titres; 3) assessment of strain(s) performance on cellulosic feedstocks at lab and pilot scale.

The development of a novel, energy-efficient method for solvent concentration and separation process using pervaporaion and graphene oxide membranes.

Growing environmental awareness and increasing crude oil prices have brought serious importance to the production of biofuels from biomass. Biobutanol – a superior fuel to ethanol - can be produced from carbon neutral renewable biomass via the bacterial Clostridia fermentation process. In this project we aim to integrate SBP with the butanol fermentation to speed up sugar conversion rates to solvents and also to assist with product recovery. We aim to establish the principles for SBP as applied to the butanol fermentation, design industrial protocols and equipment, and quantify the patentable benefits accordingly.

Genome sequencing of strains mutagenised for n-butanol production and the identification of novel metabolic pathways for rational strain improvement.

The project focuses on the production of biofuels using municipal waste (MW) which is plentiful, sustainable and environmentally friendly. The partners will develop and optimise novel and proprietary technology for 1) pre-treatment based on autoclave technology to produce an homogenous cellulosic fibre (Aerothermal), 2) enzymatic hydrolysis to release fermentable sugars (Biocatalysts) and 3) fermentation of sugars to biobutanol (Green Biologics). All three unit operations are highly innovative. In the project, we plan to perform simultaneous enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation in a single stage coupled with autoclave pre-treatment. The evaluation of net GHG emissions savings will be performed by North Energy. These calculations form an integral part of the design and development process. The partners offer an "end to end " process solution for the producing cheap and sustainable next generation biofuels. In this project, the process will be demonstrated at pilot-scale.

To use advanced gene integration technology to tag the fermentation microbes for production.

Awaiting Public Summary

The objective of the Advanced Process and Production Light Enable Sensors (APPLES) project was to develop new multi-parameter sensing technologies for monitoring production status in biochemical processes. Through demonstration of functionality and benefit for end-user applications, the technology would possess the potential to be exploited into process control. Anticipated potential gains through improved knowledge and characterisation of the production process include a reduction in raw material consumption, failed product and production times. The target markets include pharmaceutical, biofuels and chemical processing industries. A main milestone has been the successful development of multiple sensing technologies in a proof-of-concept unit that was deployed to multiple industrial partners for evaluation. The project has successfully addressed areas of potential for the technologies to serve industry needs and has identified the next steps in development required to realise a commercial product.

No abstract available.