SBIR Phase II: Isobutanol biocatalyst - Engineering pathway enzymes for higher isobutanol productivity.

这项第一阶段SBIR研究的智力价值在于开发了一种生物催化剂，用于使用分子技术进行商业生产异丁醇。在这项提议的第一阶段，设计了一种细菌微生物，以合理的高速率和高浓度产生异丁醇，表明生产异丁醇的生物技术过程是可行的。在第二阶段的研究中，将使用分子技术消除对生物催化剂生产率的任何限制，从而产生一种能够以允许经济上具有竞争力的异丁醇生产的速度生产异丁醇的微生物。第二阶段SBIR研究的更广泛影响将是为运输燃料市场和化学品市场生产的可再生异丁醇。高级醇，如丁醇和异丁醇，可以从与乙醇相同的生物质中生产，由于其较高的能量含量和较低的吸湿性，是具有吸引力的第二代生物燃料。第二阶段工作的成功完成将有助于实现一种生物技术生产异丁醇的工艺，该工艺在经济上与石化市场具有竞争力。这不仅提供了更好的第二代生物燃料，还减少了对进口石油的依赖，降低了温室气体排放，并扩大了生物基产品在化学品市场的使用。

The intellectual merit of this Phase I SBIR research is the development of a biocatalyst for the commercial production of isobutanol using molecular techniques. During Phase I of this proposal, a bacterial microorganism was engineered that produced isobutanol at reasonably high rates and reaching high concentration, indicating that a biotechnological process for the production of isobutanol is feasible. During Phase II research, any limitation to biocatalyst productivity will be removed using molecular techniques resulting in a microorganism that produces isobutanol at a rate that allows for economically competitive production of isobutanol. The broader impacts of this Phase II SBIR research will be reneweable isobutanol produced for both the transportation fuel market as well as the chemical market. Higher alcohols, such as butanol and isobutanol that can be produced from the same biomass as ethanol are attractive second-generation biofuels due to their higher energy content and their low hygroscopicity. Successful completion of the Phase II work will help enable a process for the biotechnological production of isobutanol that is economically competitive with the petrochemical market. This not only delivers a better second-generation biofuel but also reduces the dependence on imported oil, lowers greenhouse gas emissions and expands the use of biobased products in the chemicals market.