Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory achieved a breakthrough in understanding the vulnerability of microbes to the alcohols they produce during fermentation of plant biomass.
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory achieved a breakthrough in understanding the vulnerability of microbes to the alcohols they produce during fermentation of plant biomass.
With the national lab’s neutron scattering and simulation equipment, the team analyzed fermentation of the biofuel butanol, an energy-packed alcohol that also can be used as a solvent or chemical feedstock.
Butanol is toxic to the very microorganisms that produce it. This toxicity limits the amount of butanol that can be generated during fermentation, presenting a challenge to bio-based production, said Jonathan Nickels, an associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.
“The primary location of toxicity is in the membrane,” Nickels said. “Ultimately, the solvent thins it out and makes it softer and less stable. Ultimately, you get holes in the membrane. When this happens, the cell loses the ability to generate energy.”
Read more at University of Cincinnati
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