Genome-Enabled Advancement of Biomass to Biofuel Technology

Development of cellulosic ethanol biofuels technology has emerged as a national priority. Clostridium phytofermentans is a novel, naturally occurring microbe that directly converts a broad-range of complex lignocellulosic materials, with ethanol as its primary fermentation by-product. Because it can consolidate hydrolysis and fermentation steps, C. phytofermentans has the potential to significantly reduce the process cost of biomass-to-ethanol conversion. Its demonstrated ability to convert a variety of complex feedstocks enables wide application potential for cellulosic ethanol production. This project will: 1.) Determine the preferred pH, temperature, agitation speed, and media composition for the conversion of cellulose to ethanol by C. phytofermentans, 2.) Select a complex feedstock for subsequent investigations (Ammonia Fiber Expansion -treated corn stover), 3.) Demonstrate the conversion of corn stover to ethanol, and 4.) Perform bioreactor studies to maximize the conversion of corn stover to ethanol. Additionally, microbiological, genetic, and biochemical engineering data will be obtained that will allow us to model cellulose-to-ethanol conversion with C. phytofermentans and to use the biochemical reactor model to develop improved process conditions and microbial strains relevant to a viable biomass-to-ethanol process. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The development of a metabolic model that is systematically evaluated with metabolic flux analyses and incorporates data from microbiological, biochemical, microarray gene expression profiling, plus bioreactor experiments, could greatly accelerate the pace at which this promising technology can be developed to a commercial scale.