Bio-Acrylic Acid Production from Seaweed (BAAPS)

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Annually ~6.3 million tonnes of acrylic acid, with a global market of $12 billion, is industrially synthesised from propylene (a fossil fuel derivative) as a platform chemical for e.g textiles, adhesives, paints. To date, biosynthetic alternatives are too costly or inefficient for industry. This project aims to reduce carbon emissions from acrylic acid production by developing a cost-effective microbial biosynthetic route from algal waste. Methodology:- Molecular genetics will be used to generate proprietary microbial strains with enhanced bio-acrylic acid production from abundant metabolites present in farmed macroalgae. - Analytical chemistry techniques, such as chromatography and mass spectroscopy, will be used to quantify production of this high-value chemical. - Growth conditions in batch and ultimately in bioreactor settings that optimise bio-acrylic acid production by the strains they generate will be investigated. - A method for acrylic acid extraction from the cultured strains will be devised, tested and optimised.