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Questions and Answers
What is the significance of LanzaTech's achievement in terms of greenhouse gas emissions?
What is the primary benefit of using waste resources as feedstocks for fermentation?
What is the significance of transitioning the process from a 2L lab scale to a 120L pilot plant?
What is the current market size of acetone and IPA?
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What was the outcome of the initial production from the acetone pathway?
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What is the production rate of acetone and IPA achieved by LanzaTech's process?
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What was the source of syngas used in the study?
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What was the purpose of sequencing 272 ABE strains?
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What was the ultimate goal of the researchers at LanzaTech?
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What was the outcome of knocking out four specific genes in the microbe?
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Study Notes
Genetically Modified Microbes for Acetone and Isopropanol Production
- Researchers at LanzaTech have genetically modified the bacteria Clostridium autoethanogenum to produce acetone and isopropanol from industrial syngas.
- The modified microbes convert industrial syngas into acetone in a fermentation process, using four enzymes.
- The process was developed by mining strains from a defunct fermentation process that produced acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) from sugar or starch feedstocks in the 20th century.
Enzymes and Metabolic Pathway
- LanzaTech identified and sequenced 272 ABE strains and created a library of 30 enzymes to optimize acetone production.
- The engineered clostridia strain uses enzymes to make acetone from a common intermediate in metabolism (acetyl-CoA) in three steps.
- Acetone can be reduced to isopropanol (IPA).
Production and Scaling
- The initial production was disappointing, but the team identified interactions between the introduced acetone pathway and native metabolism.
- By knocking out four genes, the team achieved 90% of the carbon fixed from carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide in waste gases being channeled into acetone production.
- The production rates reached multiple grams per liter per hour, similar to the ethanol process and commercially viable.
Commercial Applications and Environmental Impact
- LanzaTech already owns two fermentation facilities in China converting gas from steel making and/or ferroalloy production into ethanol.
- The company plans to use the syngas from steel mills and has several projects in development using syngas or CO2 and renewable electricity as a feedstock.
- Acetone can be used to make acrylic glass, and IPA can be used for polypropylene production.
- The greenhouse gas emissions from the new process are -1.78 kgCO2e/kg of acetone and -1.17 kgCO2e/kg of IPA, compared to traditional petrochemical production routes that give substantial greenhouse gas emissions.
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Description
Scientists have genetically modified microbes to produce acetone and isopropanol through a fermentation process using low-cost waste gases. This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionize the biofuel industry.
