SBIR Phase I: Microbial production of renewable monoethylene glycol

该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是用一种新的、可持续的生物工艺取代传统的以化石燃料为基础的化学工艺来生产单甘醇(MEG)。MEG是一种大量生产的商品化学品，主要用作聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯的前体之一，聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯是一种常见的聚合物，以聚酯织物和塑料饮料瓶的形式存在。目前，MEG主要来自化石燃料，造成大量温室气体排放的有限资源和与MEG生产相关的碳足迹。因此，利用可持续的资源材料可以减少对环境的影响，具有积极的效果。该项目提出了一种新技术，在该技术中，植物衍生的糖通过一步生物过程转化为MEG；如果该技术成功，将极大地减少MEG的碳足迹。此外，生物过程应该具有成本竞争力，资本投资明显减少。这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目是为了开发一种将植物来源的糖转化为MEG的单步生物过程。生物过程将包括发酵，在发酵过程中，微生物菌株代谢糖并产生Meg作为产品。因为MEG不是一种典型的发酵产品，所以第一阶段的研究将是为了实现这一目标设计一种微生物菌株。第一步是设计一个或多个生化反应，从糖开始产生脑磁图。该设计包括识别执行适当反应的酶，以及识别可能导致其他产品的反应。下一步是设计进入宿主微生物的代谢途径。为此，这种微生物通过分子生物学技术进行了基因改造，使其含有必要的酶，并且缺乏那些导致副产品的酶。微生物被测试，代谢途径被证明后，系统将需要优化。优化将包括进一步的基因改造和/或发酵条件的调整。预计第一阶段的研究将证明该公司独特设计的代谢途径，并证明微生物发酵方法用于可再生MEG生产的可行性。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project would be supplanting the traditional, fossil fuel-based chemical process for monoethylene glycol (MEG) production with a novel, sustainable bioprocess. MEG is a commodity chemical produced in large quantities and has primary application as one of the precursors for poly(ethylene terephthalate), a polymer that is commonplace in the form of polyester fabric and plastic beverage bottles. Presently, MEG is mainly derived from fossil fuels, limited resources that are responsible for the significant greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint associated with MEG production. Therefore, utilizing sustainable source materials has a positive effect by reducing the environmental impact. This project proposes a new technology in which plant-derived sugars are converted into MEG in a single-step bioprocess; this technology if successful, would dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of MEG. Furthermore, the bioprocess should be cost-competitive with a significantly less capital investment.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is for the development of a single-step bioprocess for the conversion of plant-derived sugars into MEG. The bioprocess will consist of fermentation in which a microbial strain metabolizes sugars and yields MEG as the product. Because MEG is not a typical fermentation product, the Phase I research will be to engineer a microbial strain toward this goal. The first step is to design one or more series of biochemical reactions that result in MEG starting from sugars. The design consists of identifying enzymes that carry out the appropriate reactions and identifying reactions that may result in other products. The next step is to engineer the designed metabolic pathway into the host microbe. For this, the microbe is genetically modified through molecular biological techniques such that it contains the necessary enzymes and lacks those that lead to side-products. The microbe is tested, and after the metabolic pathway has been demonstrated, the system will require optimization. The optimization will comprise of further genetic modification and/or adjustment of fermentation conditions. It is anticipated that the Phase I research will prove out the company's uniquely designed metabolic pathways and demonstrate feasibility on a microbial fermentation approach for renewable MEG production.