Cheaper Biofuel on the Horizon: UC Breakthrough Promises Affordability

Biofuel Research Breakthrough Could Boost Production Efficiency

Researchers at the United States Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Cincinnati (UC) have made a breakthrough in boosting production efficiency of biofuels. They intend to overcome one of the major challenges in the form of alcohol toxicity, say butanol, to the microbe that is producing it using fermentation.

Knowing the Challenge

Butanol, a high-energy alcohol that serves as both a feedstock chemical and biofuel, is harmful to the microorganisms used to produce it. The chemical toxicity places a limit on the amount of butanol that can be produced through fermentation, setting a production limit in biofuel manufacturing.

Researchers at UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) and ORNL have investigated the effect of butanol on microbial cell membranes. In their observation, butanol accumulates unevenly on the membrane sides, thinning the membrane in some areas. This destabilizes the membrane, softens it, and makes it less stable. It creates holes in extreme cases, which prevent the cell from producing energy and kill it ultimately.

State-of-the-Art Research Methods

Scientists employed neutron scattering experiments to investigate the fermentation process in detail. The non-destructive technique allows researchers to investigate the internal structure of the membrane and observe how butanol is distributed in it.

Supercomputer-based computer simulations of molecular dynamics were also carried out to figure out how molecules and atoms move and interact with one another as time progresses. This further shed more light on the ways butanol destabilizes microbial membranes at a molecular level.

Potential Solutions

With this understanding of how butanol affects microbial cell membranes, researchers aim to discover ways to stabilize the membranes and reduce cell stress. This would increase the efficiency of the process in the manufacture of biofuels.

The study, published in the Langmuir journal, identifies new targets to increase fermentation efficiency by reducing the toxic impact of butanol on microbial cells.

Collaboration and Funding

The research was supported by the ORNL Center for Structural Molecular Biology and DOE Office of Science's Solvent Disruption of Biomass and Biomembranes Science Focus Area (Biofuels SFA).

Future Research

Lead author Luoxi Tan, who earned her doctorate at UC, is carrying on the work as a postdoctoral researcher at ORNL. The researchers want to find out how microbial membranes are stabilized to enable concentrated butanol to be accessed without killing the cells. If they succeed, it has the potential to make mass production of biofuel achievable.

Impact on the Biofuel Industry

Economic and ecological relevance is broad through increased efficiency of biofuel production. More stable fermentation would be possible through better yields of butanol, which would reduce the use of fossil fuels and assist in the realization of renewable energy sources.

Improved biofuel technology through greater research activity and coordination with national laboratories and universities would provide more scalable and cost-effective methods of renewable energy.