Producing Propanol: A Microscopic Solution
In the quest to find planet-friendly substitutes for fossil fuels, more and more researchers are turning their attention to propanol. This alcohol boasts a higher energy content than its cousin ethanol, widely touted as a green substitute for gasoline. And unlike ethanol, propanol can be transported in existing gas pipelines. The problem is how to produce it.
Perry Chou and fellow researchers in À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ's department of Chemical Engineering believe the answer could be bacteria. By tinkering with the metabolic pathways of E. coli - a harmless and easily grown microorganism - the investigators succeeded in producing a microscopic propanol factory.
By genetically manipulating a novel pathway in the bacteria, they were able to churn out propanol in concentrations up to 7 g/L. It's an intriguing glimpse of how this environmentally responsible biofuel might be produced in the future.
While the new technology might have a potential for commercialization, Chou, Moo-Young, and their colleagues have identified several issues that first need to be addressed. On the to-do list is eliminating bottlenecks at key points in the pathway, knocking other metabolic pathways that generate unwanted byproducts, and determining the optimal conditions for cultivating these bacterial workhouses.
Researchers: Kajan Srirangan, Lamees Akawi, Xuejia Liu, Murray Moo-Young, C. Perry Chou
Partners: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Strategic Program