Optimization of biomass feedstock for saccharification

纤维素植物生物质是生产生物燃料等生物基产品的一种有吸引力的原料。目前，生物乙醇是从甘蔗或玉米等富含淀粉的谷物中生产的，然而，这些原料的广泛使用受到气候或成本的限制。一种更为丰富和实用的原料是纤维素，一种β-1，4-葡聚糖。这在很大程度上是因为生产率高(每公顷每年吨数)，以及对化学和能源投入的需求低于传统粮食作物。因此，与其他原料相比，用于生产生物燃料的纤维素原料具有更好的化石燃料替代潜力。然而，处理纤维素生物质的技术存在效率低下的问题，这推高了成本，因此纤维素衍生燃料在成本上尚不具竞争力。需要克服的一个主要技术障碍是纤维素对使用低成本、高产量方法进行加工的阻力。FronTier农业科学公司是一家加拿大农业生物技术公司，位于加拿大安大略省渥太华，成立于2010年。FronTier的任务是开发、测试和销售用于食品和生物燃料生产的改良作物品种。FronTier的旗舰抗旱技术目前正在世界各地进行测试和开发，用于主要的商业作物，该公司目前正寻求进一步投资于生物能源作物研究。然而，生物能源部门是一个大行业，需要大量资本投资才能成功测试和销售用于生物燃料生产的新作物和方法。为了吸引这笔投资，必须开发前景看好的早期技术，以证明有形的市场价值。示范工作本身需要时间、专业知识和资金承诺，这对新的加拿大企业来说是一个资金缺口。Frontier和达里奥·博内塔教授之间的合作，以及NSERC的Engage Grant计划的财政支持，将使这项技术能够进行商业潜力评估。成功的结果将使Frontier能够自信地投入所需的时间和财政资源，以推动新的生物燃料作物品种和制造方法的开发和营销。

Cellulosic plant biomass is an attractive feedstock for the production of biobased products such as biofuels. Bioethanol is currently produced from sugarcane or starch rich grains like corn, however, widespread use of these feedstocks is limited by climate or cost. A more abundant and practical feedstock is cellulose, a beta1,4 glucan. This is largely because of high productivity (tonnes per hectare per year) as well as lower demand for chemical and energy inputs than traditional food crops. Cellulosic feedstocks for biofuel production would thus have a much better potential for fossil fuel displacement than do other feedstocks. Technologies for processing cellulosic biomass, however, suffer from inefficiencies that drive up the cost so that cellulose derived fuels are not yet cost-competitive. A major technical obstacle that needs to be overcome is the recalcitrance of cellulose to processing using low cost, high yield methods. Frontier Agri-Science Inc. is a Canadian agricultural biotechnology located in Ottawa Ontario and founded in 2010. Frontier's mandate is to develop, test and market improved crop varieties for food and biofuel production. Frontier's flagship drought tolerant technology in currently in testing and development around the world for use in major commercial crops and the company is now looking to invest further in bioenergy crop research. The bioenergy sector, however, is a large industry and significant capital investment is required to successfully test and market new crops and methods for biofuel production. To attract this investment, promising early stage technologies must be developed to the point that tangible market value can be demonstrated. The demonstration work itself requires time, expertise and a financial commitment, representing a funding gap for new Canadian enterprises. The collaboration between Frontier and Prof. Dario Bonetta, together with the financial support of NSERC's Engage Grant program will allow the technology to be assessed for commercial potential. Successful outcomes will allow Frontier to confidently invest the time and financial resources it will require to move forward with the development and marketing of new biofuel crop varieties and manufacturing methods.