Location: Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research
2023 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Oxygen limitation improving 2,3-butanediol generation from lignocellulosic hydrolysates. The bacteria strain Paenibacillius polymyxa (P. polymyxa) naturally produces the platform chemical 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO), a starting material to produce several value added products including sustainable aviation fuel. In order to be economically feasible to produce via this method, high concentrations of 2,3-BDO must be achieved. ARS scientists in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, have shown that utilizing fully aerobic fermentation conditions within the first 24 hours can provide exponential biomass growth along with substantial sugar consumption. Upon reaching 24 hours of fermentation the addition of oxygen (via air) can be terminated for the remainder of the processing time stimulating production of 2,3-BDO. Controlling the fermentation oxygen level via this process achieves much higher concentrations (nearly 40 g/L 2,3-BDO) than a control fermentation where oxygen is kept constant. Continuing research studies are ongoing by incorporating fed-batch processing to produce concentrations of 2,3-BDO greater than 40 g/L that will allow for more efficient downstream separation and recovery of the product.
Review Publications
Stoklosa, R.J., Latona, R.J., Johnston, D. 2022. Assessing oxygen limiting fermentation conditions for 2,3-butanediol production from paenibacillus polymyxa. Frontiers in Chemical Engineering. 4:1038311. https://doi.org/10.3389/fceng.2022.1038311.
Garcia-Negron, V., Toht, M.J. 2022. Corn stover pretreatment with Na2CO3 solution from absorption of recovered CO2. Fermentation. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8110600.
