I-Corps: Commercial potential of exploiting synthetic microbial consortia for efficient production of fuels/chemicals from cellulosic biomass

纤维素生物质生物转化为燃料和商品化学品是目前以石油为基础的生产平台的可持续替代品。经济分析表明，通过将所有必需的生物功能整合到单个生物反应器中（称为综合生物处理），可以实现大幅度的成本降低。作为概念验证，PI已经演示了微晶纤维素和预处理玉米秸秆直接转化为异丁醇，这是一种有前途的下一代生物燃料。由于其效率、模块化和稳健性，所提出的微生物共培养技术平台在许多其他生物燃料和有价值的生物化学品的成本效益生产方面具有巨大的商业潜力。提议的平台可以通过减少所需反应器的数量和/或无需购买水解酶来降低潜在客户/合作伙伴的处理成本。此外，拟议的系统可以使客户/合作伙伴从以食物为基础的原料过渡到更丰富、可持续和低成本的木质纤维素原料。

Biological conversion of cellulosic biomass into fuels and commodity chemicals is a sustainable alternative to present petroleum-based production platforms. Economic analyses indicate that substantial cost reductions can be achieved by integrating all required biological functions into a single bioreactor (termed consolidated bioprocessing). As a proof of concept, the PI has demonstrated direct conversion of microcrystalline cellulose and pretreated corn stover to isobutanol, a promising next-generation biofuel. Due to its efficiency, modularity, and robustness, the proposed microbial coculture technology platform has great commercial potential for cost-effective production of many other biofuels and valuable biochemicals.The proposed platform could reduce processing costs for potential customers/partners by decreasing the number of reactors required and/or eliminating to the need to purchase hydrolytic enzymes. Furthermore, the proposed system could enable customers/partners to transition from food-based to more abundant, sustainable, and lower-cost lignocellulose feedstocks.