Acetoin and 2,3-butanediol production via non-pathogenic Paenibacillus polymyxa integrated with bio-based solvent pretreatment

Authors: JEONG, SOYEON - State University Of New York- College Of Environmental Science And Forestry; Garcia-Negron, Valerie; Latona, Renee; PU, YUNQIAO - Oak Ridge National Laboratory; PARK, MIN BUM - Incheon National University; Stoklosa, Ryan; YOO, CHANG GUEN - State University Of New York- College Of Environmental Science And Forestry; RAGAUSKAS, ARTHUR - University Of Tennessee

Submitted to: Industrial Crops and Products
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/13/2026
Publication Date: 5/21/2026
Citation: Jeong, S., Garcia-Negron, V., Latona, R.J., Pu, Y., Park, M., Stoklosa, R.J., Yoo, C., Ragauskas, A.J. 2026. Acetoin and 2,3-butanediol production via non-pathogenic Paenibacillus polymyxa integrated with bio-based solvent pretreatment. Industrial Crops and Products. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2026.123494.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2026.123494

Interpretive Summary: A circular bioeconomy is one type of production system that reduces the use of non-renewable resources by substituting in renewable feedstocks for generating bio-based products. This type of production system limits environmental degradation while increasing economic value. One way to achieve a system such as this is to utilize agricultural feedstocks, such as switchgrass, for biochemical conversion to bio-based chemicals. To do this a feedstock like switchgrass must first undergo chemical pretreatment, followed by deconstruction to fermentable sugars using enzymes. These sugars from switchgrass can then be converted to a bio-based chemical through microbial fermentation. This work applied a novel chemical pretreatment that utilized 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) to pretreat switchgrass to make it amenable to deconstruction by enzymes. 2,3-BDO was chosen for pretreatment as it has shown potential as an effective chemical to both remove and stabilize lignin, a component in plant cell walls that has high value co-product applications. Following enzymatic deconstruction the sugars were then converted to 2,3-BDO during the fermentation stage. In this way the regenerated 2,3-BDO can both be recycled back to the pretreatment stage without adding new chemical back to the process while the remaining portion can be used for upgrading to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Technical Abstract: 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) is a promising platform chemical that can be derived from biomass and used for several industrial applications, including sustainable aviation fuels. However, economically feasible and sustainable 2,3-BDO production from biomass is still challenging due to the recalcitrance of biomass. Moreover, most of the applied microorganisms applied for 2,3-BDO fermentation are pathogens. Herein, we presented a closed-loop strategy using 2,3-BDO pretreatment followed by 2,3-BDO fermentation with non-pathogenic bacteria, Paenibacillus polymyxa is presented. This study elucidated the effects of 2,3-BDO pretreatment on the structural properties of lignin, fermentable sugar conversion, and 2,3-BDO productivity from switchgrass via microbial fermentation. The 2,3-BDO pretreatment significantly removed hemicellulose (up to 90% xylan) and 56.8% of lignin from switchgrass at 150 °C. The 2,3-BDO pretreated biomass resulted in 11.6 g/L of 2,3-BDO with a BDO yield of 0.486 g BDO/g sugar consumed at 48 h of microbial fermentation. Compared to the pretreatment effects of 1,4-BDO, the recovered lignin from 2,3-BDO pretreatment maintained better beta-O-4 linkage preservation. Also, 2,3-BDO pretreatment recovered up to 40.9% of xylooligosaccharide (XOS) from liquid hydrolysates, which can be used for high-value products like prebiotics. The utilization of 2,3-BDO as a biomass processing solvent allows a sustainable closed-loop, improving the economic feasibility and sustainability of the process.