[4+4]-Cycloaddition of Isoprene for the Production of High-Performance Bio-Based Jet Fuel.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Rosenkoetter KE
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8009188 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundAviation fuels are an important target of biofuels research due to their high market demand and competitive price. Isoprenoids have been demonstrated as good feedstocks for advanced renewable jet fuels with high energy density, high heat of combustion, and excellent cold-weather performance. In particular, sesquiterpene compounds (C15), such as farnesene and bisabolene, have been identified as promising jet fuel candidates.ResultsIn this study, we explored three sesquiterpenes-epi-isozizaene, pentalenene and ?-isocomene-as novel jet fuel precursors. We performed a computational analysis to calculate the energy of combustion of these sesquiterpenes and found that their specific energies are comparable to commercial jet fuel A-1. Through heterologous MVA pathway expression and promoter engineering, we produced 727.9 mg/L epi-isozizaene, 780.3 mg/L pentalenene and 77.5 mg/L ?-isocomene in Escherichia coli and 344 mg/L pentalenene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We also introduced a dynamic autoinduction system using previously identified FPP-responsive promoters for inducer-free production and managed to achieve comparable amounts of each compound.ConclusionWe produced tricyclic sesquiterpenes epi-isozizaene, pentalenene and ?-isocomene, promising jet fuel feedstocks at high production titers, providing novel, sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based jet fuels.
| S-EPMC6195743 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The depleting petroleum reserve, increasingly severe energy crisis, and global climate change are reigniting enthusiasm for seeking sustainable technologies to replace petroleum as a source of fuel and chemicals. In this paper, the efficiency of the MVA pathway on isoprene production has been improved as follows: firstly, in order to increase MVA production, the source of the "upper pathway" which contains HMG-CoA synthase, acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase and HMG-CoA reductase to covert acetyl-CoA into MVA has been changed from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Enterococcus faecalis; secondly, to further enhance the production of MVA and isoprene, a alanine 110 of the mvaS gene has been mutated to a glycine. The final genetic strain YJM25 containing the optimized MVA pathway and isoprene synthase from Populus alba can accumulate isoprene up to 6.3 g/L after 40 h of fed-batch cultivation.
| S-EPMC3338741 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAlcohol-to-jet (ATJ) is one of the technical feasible biofuel technologies. It produces jet fuel from sugary, starchy, and lignocellulosic biomass, such as sugarcane, corn grain, and switchgrass, via fermentation of sugars to ethanol or other alcohols. This study assesses the ATJ biofuel production pathway for these three biomass feedstocks, and advances existing techno-economic analyses of biofuels in three ways. First, we incorporate technical uncertainty for all by-products and co-products though statistical linkages between conversion efficiencies and input and output levels. Second, future price uncertainty is based on case-by-case time-series estimation, and a local sensitivity analysis is conducted with respect to each uncertain variable. Third, breakeven price distributions are developed to communicate the inherent uncertainty in breakeven price. This research also considers uncertainties in utility input requirements, fuel and by-product outputs, as well as price uncertainties for all major inputs, products, and co-products. All analyses are done from the perspective of a private firm.ResultsThe stochastic dominance results of net present values (NPV) and breakeven price distributions show that sugarcane is the lowest cost feedstock over the entire range of uncertainty with the least risks, followed by corn grain and switchgrass, with the mean breakeven jet fuel prices being $0.96/L ($3.65/gal), $1.01/L ($3.84/gal), and $1.38/L ($5.21/gal), respectively. The variation of revenues from by-products in corn grain pathway can significantly impact its profitability. Sensitivity analyses show that technical uncertainty significantly impacts breakeven price and NPV distributions.ConclusionsTechnical uncertainty is critical in determining the economic performance of the ATJ fuel pathway. Technical uncertainty needs to be considered in future economic analyses. The variation of revenues from by-products plays a significant role in profitability. With the distribution of breakeven prices, potential investors can apply whatever risk preferences they like to determine an appropriate bid or breakeven price that matches their risk profile.
| S-EPMC5244559 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The high-resolution infrared spectrum of isoprene has been observed under supersonic jet-cooled conditions in the region of the ν26 vibrational band near 992 cm-1. The spectrum was assigned and fit using a standard asymmetric top Hamiltonian, and an acceptable fit was obtained for transitions to excited state energy levels with J ≤ 6, with an error in the fit of 0.002 cm-1. For excited state energy levels with J > 6, a perturbation was present that prevented fitting using the standard asymmetric top Hamiltonian. Based on previous anharmonic frequency calculations and observed vibrational bands of isoprene, the perturbation is most likely caused by Coriolis coupling between the ν26 and ν17 vibrations or a combination band that lies near the ν26 band. The excited state rotational constants from the fit show reasonable agreement with previous anharmonic calculations performed at the MP2/cc-pVTZ level of theory. The jet-cooled spectrum is compared with previous high-resolution measurements of this band at room temperature and shows that understanding the perturbation will be necessary to accurately model this vibrational band.
| S-EPMC10258839 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The sustainable development of engineering biocomposites has been limited due to a lack of bio-based monomers combining favorable processing with high performance. Here, the authors report a novel and fully bio-based transparent wood biocomposite based on green synthesis of a new limonene acrylate monomer from renewable resources. The monomer is impregnated and readily polymerized in a delignified, succinylated wood substrate to form optically transparent biocomposites. The chemical structure of the limonene acrylate enables diffusion into the cell wall, and the polymer phase is both refractive index-matched and covalently linked to the wood substrate. This results in nanostructured biocomposites combining an excellent optical transmittance of 90% at 1.2 mm thickness and a remarkably low haze of 30%, with a high mechanical performance (strength 174 MPa, Young's modulus 17 GPa). Bio-based transparent wood holds great potential towards the development of sustainable wood nanotechnologies for structural applications, where transparency and mechanical performance are combined.
| S-EPMC8224414 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundIn an effort to ensure future energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create domestic jobs, the US has invested in technologies to develop sustainable biofuels and bioproducts from renewable carbon sources such as lignocellulosic biomass. Bio-derived jet fuel is of particular interest as aviation is less amenable to electrification compared to other modes of transportation and synthetic biology provides the ability to tailor fuel properties to enhance performance. Specific energy and energy density are important properties in determining the attractiveness of potential bio-derived jet fuels. For example, increased energy content can give the industry options such as longer range, higher load or reduced takeoff weight. Energy-dense sesquiterpenes have been identified as potential next-generation jet fuels that can be renewably produced from lignocellulosic biomass.ResultsWe developed a biomass deconstruction and conversion process that enabled the production of two tricyclic sesquiterpenes, epi-isozizaene and prespatane, from the woody biomass poplar using the versatile basidiomycete Rhodosporidium toruloides. We demonstrated terpene production at both bench and bioreactor scales, with prespatane titers reaching 1173.6 mg/L when grown in poplar hydrolysate in a 2 L bioreactor. Additionally, we examined the theoretical fuel properties of prespatane and epi-isozizaene in their hydrogenated states as blending options for jet fuel, and compared them to aviation fuel, Jet A.ConclusionOur findings indicate that prespatane and epi-isozizaene in their hydrogenated states would be attractive blending options in Jet A or other lower density renewable jet fuels as they would improve viscosity and increase their energy density. Saturated epi-isozizaene and saturated prespatane have energy densities that are 16.6 and 18.8% higher than Jet A, respectively. These results highlight the potential of R. toruloides as a production host for the sustainable and scalable production of bio-derived jet fuel blends, and this is the first report of prespatane as an alternative jet fuel.
| S-EPMC7659065 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND: Recent metabolic engineering efforts have generated microorganisms that can produce biofuels, including bio-jet fuels, however these fuels are often toxic to cells, limiting production yields. There are natural examples of microorganisms that have evolved mechanisms for tolerating hydrocarbon-rich environments, such as those that thrive near natural oil seeps and in oil-polluted waters. RESULTS: Using genomic DNA from the hydrocarbon-degrading microbe Marinobacter aquaeolei, we constructed a transgenic library that we expressed in Escherichia coli. We exposed cells to inhibitory levels of pinene, a monoterpene that can serve as a jet fuel precursor with chemical properties similar to existing tactical fuels. Using a sequential strategy with a fosmid library followed by a plasmid library, we were able to isolate a region of DNA from the M. aquaeolei genome that conferred pinene tolerance when expressed in E. coli. We determined that a single gene, yceI, was responsible for the tolerance improvements. Overexpression of this gene placed no additional burden on the host. We also tested tolerance to other monoterpenes and showed that yceI selectively improves tolerance. CONCLUSIONS: The genomes of hydrocarbon-tolerant microbes represent a rich resource for tolerance engineering. Using a transgenic library, we were able to identify a single gene that improves E. coli's tolerance to the bio-jet fuel precursor pinene.
| S-EPMC4596283 | biostudies-other
Project description:Microbial contaminants of civil aviation jet fuel supply chains.
| PRJEB20724 | ENA
Project description:In this work we demonstrate the selective catalytic conversion of prenol, which is an allylic alcohol that can be prepared from renewable resources to isoprene. The catalyst is an inexpensive molybdenum complex (Molyvan L) designed and used as an additive for lubricants. Isoprene is generated under relatively mild reaction parameters at 130-150°C, for 2 h, under vapor pressure conditions that do not exceed 50 psi. Two cases were studied: one in which Molyvan L was dissolved in a base oil at 1% concentration (weight/weight) and then mixed with a solvent and prenol and the other in which neat Molyvan L was introduced in the reaction and the base oil was replaced with the solvent and prenol. We investigated the selectivity of the reaction using the following solvents in both cases: dodecane, dodecanol, isododecane, octane, blendstock for oxygenate blending (BOB3), a fuel surrogate, a polyalphaolefin (PAO4), and methoxy polyethylene glycol (methoxy PEG350). Although conversion of prenol was above 94% in all experiments, isoprene was formed with various degrees of efficiency alongside a prenol isomeric alcohol, diprenyl ether and mixed ether via intramolecular and intermolecular dehydration reactions. Dodecane appeared to have the highest level of selectivity initially in base oil so we studied the effect of various dodecane-like solvents on isoprene yield and product profile. Surprisingly, octane (similar to dodecane) and isododecane (branched alkane) generated insignificant amounts of byproducts, essentially providing the highly desired isoprene with a very high selectivity. Branching of the solvent does not appear to have an effect on selectivity. Another advantage of this catalyst is the low loadings required to effect the transformation; that is, 0.25% (weight/volume) in the cases using neat Molyvan L and 0.5% (weight/volume) in the cases using Molyvan L dissolved in the base oil. Provided that prenol can be produced in large scale from bioresources, this work would enable the sustainable production of isoprene, in good yield, and with very high selectivity.
| S-EPMC9152107 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Soot from jet fuel combustion in aircraft engines contributes to global warming through the formation of contrail cirrus clouds that make up to 56% of the total radiative forcing from aviation. Here, the elimination of such emissions is explored through N2 injection (containing 0-25 vol % O2) at the exhaust of enclosed spray combustion of jet fuel that nicely emulates aircraft soot emissions. It is shown that injecting N2 containing 5 vol % of O2 enhances the formation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that adsorb on the surface of soot. This increases soot number density and volume fraction by 25 and 80%, respectively. However, further increasing the O2 concentration to 20 or 25 vol % enhances oxidation and nearly eliminates soot emissions from jet fuel spray combustion, reducing the soot number density and volume fraction by 87.3 or 95.4 and 98.3 or 99.6%, respectively. So, a judicious injection of air just after the aircraft engine exhaust can drastically reduce soot emissions and halve the radiative forcing due to aviation, as shown by soot mobility, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (for the organic to total carbon ratio) measurements.
| S-EPMC10357563 | biostudies-literature