High Value Chemicals from Low Cost One Carbon Feedstock

为了与现有的基于石化原料的化工生产工艺竞争，用于生物发酵工艺的低成本原料是必不可少的，因为原料通常相当于总生产成本的60%。此外，以碳为基础的产量需要很高，这是用含氧量高的糖或纤维素原料很难实现的，因为氧气以二氧化碳的形式损失。生物燃料的生产也是如此。甲烷(CH4)和甲醇(CH3OH)是可获得的成本最低的碳源之一，需要大量生产以生物为基础的商品化学品，以取代现有的化学制造工艺。在运输中使用天然气的努力，无论是直接使用还是转换为液体燃料，都受到了最近可用供应量的增加和天然气与石油之间不断扩大的价差的推动，尤其是在美国。以CH4和/或CH3OH为基础的颠覆性生产工艺将大大加快以生物为基础的化学品和燃料的增长和市场渗透，不仅取代现有的化学工艺，而且还取代第一代和第二代糖/纤维素工艺。好氧甲烷氧化菌是甲烷生物转化的唯一途径，通过甲烷单加氧酶(MMO)将甲烷活化为甲醇，然后在生产化学品和燃料的过程中将甲醇转化为甲醛。目的：在这个项目中，我们将探索以甲烷为原料生产高价值化学品的可能性；提高甲烷吸收的速度和能源效率，以及设计高生产率甲烷转化生物的方法。战略：我们的目标是通过以下活动取得进展：-(I)确定最合适的甲烷/甲醇利用底盘；(Ii)实施修改有机体所需的基因技术；(Iii)使用合成生物学改造菌株以生产示范平台化学品；以及(V)优化发酵过程，用于连续搅拌釜式反应器(CSTR)，作为评估各种气体发酵反应器设计中生产菌株的基准。

To compete with existing chemical manufacturing processes based on petrochemical derived raw materials, low cost feedstocks for biological fermentation processes are essential, since the feedstock typically equates to >60% of the overall production cost. In addition, the yield based on carbon needs to be high, which is very difficult to achieve with sugars or cellulosic feedstocks with a high oxygen content, since the oxygen is lost as CO2. The same holds true for the production of biofuels. Methane (CH4) and methanol(CH3OH) are one of the lowest cost carbon sources available in the abundance required to produce bio-based commodity chemicals on a scale that could replace existing chemical manufacturing processes. Efforts to use natural gas in transportation, either directly or by conversion to a liquid fuel, have been spurred by recent increases in available supply and a growing price spread between natural gas and petroleum, especially in the United States. A disruptive production process based on CH4 and/or CH3OH would accelerate the growth and market penetration of biobased chemicals and fuels considerably, not only replacing existing chemical processes, but also 1st and 2nd generation sugar/cellulosics processes. Aerobic methanotrophs represent the only available route for methane bioconversion, activating methane to methanol via methane monooxygenase(MMO) and subsequently converting methanol to formaldehyde en route to chemical and fuel production. AIM: In this project, we will explore the possibility of using methane as a feedstock for the production of high value chemicals; to improve the rates and energy efficiencies of methane uptake, as well as approaches to engineer high-productivity methane conversion organisms. STRATEGY: Our aim will be progress through the following activities:- (i) identifying the most appropriate methane/methanol-utilising chassis; (ii) implementing the requisite gene technologies for modifying the organism; (iii) using synthetic biology to engineer the strain to produce an exemplar platform chemical, and; (v) optimising the fermentation process to be used in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) as benchmark for the evaluation of production strains in various gas fermentation reactor designs.