{"id":55618,"date":"2018-08-15T07:23:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T05:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=55618"},"modified":"2018-08-10T12:47:27","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T10:47:27","slug":"modeling-research-identifies-potentially-profitable-bioproducts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/modeling-research-identifies-potentially-profitable-bioproducts\/","title":{"rendered":"Modeling research identifies potentially profitable bioproducts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Maravelias-Reed-Diptych_20180608\"
GLBRC researchers Christos Maravelias (left) and Jennifer Reed (right) collaborated on a recent publication identifying potentially profitable bioproducts. The study’s first author, Tony (Wenzhao) Wu, is pictured below. (Photos: Matt Wisniewski & James Runde)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Imagine a new and improved biorefinery, one that produces advanced biofuels as environmentally sustainable as they are economically viable. In the biorefinery of the future, every step of the pipeline is optimized, almost every part of the energy crop is used, and the entire system, from field to fuel, serves to drive down carbon emissions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) work toward that vision, they\u2019re finding inspiration in what might seem an odd or unlikely place \u2013 the oil refinery. Oil refineries make an array of products from crude oil, including low-cost gasoline and high-value petrochemicals. The practice of making co-products alongside fuels helps improve the refinery\u2019s bottom line and could also prove critical to the biorefinery\u2019s economic model.<\/p>\n

But what bioproducts should or could the future biorefinery produce alongside advanced biofuels? Which will succeed in making the process more economical? New work from GLBRC<\/a>, published in Biotechnology and Bioengineering<\/em>, is providing a much-needed framework for answering those questions, helping researchers to identify the most promising bio-based chemicals.<\/p>\n

\"_MG_1659-Web\"
Tony (Wenzhao) Wu (Photo: James Runde)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe wanted to develop methods that will allow us to identify chemicals that will be promising in a biorefinery,\u201d says Christos Maravelias, University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison professor of chemical engineering. \u201cThis means taking into account what can be done biologically and also taking into account the price of chemicals in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maravelias, along with Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Jennifer Reed and the study\u2019s first author Tony (Wenzhao) Wu, has developed and used a multi-scale modeling process to identify 32 biochemicals as economically promising if maximum yields can be achieved, and 22 biochemicals if the maximum productivities can be achieved.<\/p>\n

To come up with the list, the team first identified a candidate pool of chemicals that can be created directly from microorganisms, and thus do not require potentially costly chemical conversion steps. Next, they screened the pool based on profit margin, market volume, and market size, while also incorporating the total process cost into their evaluation, including the downstream separation cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that if we produce that chemical today on an industrial scale, it will be profitable,\u201d Wu says of the bioproducts identified. \u201cBut it means it can be profitable in the future if the microbial conversion yield and productivity can be increased drastically and low separation cost can be achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t want to use our valuable resources to study chemicals that don\u2019t appear to be promising.<\/p>\n

The work provides immediate guidance for microbiologists and chemical engineers, steering them toward the production of biochemicals most worthy of time and investigation. As Wu says, \u201cwe don\u2019t want to use our valuable resources to study chemicals that don\u2019t appear to be promising.\u201d But it\u2019s also a flexible framework for answering other complex questions about the biology and economics of specific biochemicals and can be used to conduct other customized screenings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a starting point,\u201d says Wu, \u201ca model that combines what we know to be true about the microbial processes that generate these chemicals with what we know about the economics. Our final goal is to inform future research.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"YouTube\" <\/p>\n
\n

By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.
Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n

Load video<\/a><\/p>\n