Researchers from Hiroshima University found a way to produce gas that in a cost-effective and sustainable biofuel production process. The method gets its sustainability boots from a new strain of bacteria engineered by the researchers.

Acetone is a volatile solvent typically produced through the cumene method, which is cost-effective but not sustainable. The cumene method developed in 1942 turns two non-renewable resources into acetone and phenol. Phenol is use to manufacture plastics. More environmentally friendly production options exist, like gas fermentation, but these methods tend to be cumbersome and expensive. The biggest expense is the downstream processing, where the desired chemicals are separated from other materials.

Scientists from Hiroshima University and AIST in Japan engineered the bacterium Moorella thermoacetica to produce a volatile chemical from gaseous substrates at high temperature. Source: Yutaka Nakashimada, Hiroshima University

To create a sustainable and cost-effective process, the team engineered the bacteria Moorella thermoacetica. The bacteria was engineered with modified metabolism processes to create a productive bacteria strain.

The new bacteria eats gaseous feedstocks of hydrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to produce acetone. It grows at higher temperatures than the boiling point of acetone, so the acetone is produced as a gas that can be distilled. This streamlines the traditional system into a simultaneous process. The engineered bacteria could be used to develop a simplified and cost-effective process for industrial production.

Further studies are needed to improve productivity in order for the bacteria to be used in industrial applications. The team plans to scale up the work and study the productivity of bacteria in industrial conditions.

A paper on the new bacteria was published in AMB Express.