Microbial Alkane Production for Jet Fuel Industry: Motivation, State of the Art and Perspectives

Overview

Journal Microb Biotechnol

Specialties Biotechnology
Microbiology

Date 2016 Oct 11

PMID 27723249

Citations 14

Authors

Lorena Jimenez-Diaz

Antonio Caballero

Natalia Perez-Hernandez

Ana Segura

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Bio-jet fuel has attracted a lot of interest in recent years and has become a focus for aircraft and engine manufacturers, oil companies, governments and researchers. Given the global concern about environmental issues and the instability of oil market, bio-jet fuel has been identified as a promising way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation industry, while also promoting energy security. Although a number of bio-jet fuel sources have been approved for manufacture, their commercialization and entry into the market is still a far way away. In this review, we provide an overview of the drivers for intensified research into bio-jet fuel technologies, the type of chemical compounds found in bio-jet fuel preparations and the current state of related pre-commercial technologies. The biosynthesis of hydrocarbons is one of the most promising approaches for bio-jet fuel production, and thus we provide a detailed analysis of recent advances in the microbial biosynthesis of hydrocarbons (with a focus on alkanes). Finally, we explore the latest developments and their implications for the future of research into bio-jet fuel technologies.

Citing Articles

Lipid production and cellular changes in Fremyella diplosiphon exposed to nanoscale zerovalent iron nanoparticles and ampicillin.

Yalcin Y, Aydin B, Chen H, Gichuki S, Sitther V Microb Cell Fact. 2023; 22(1):108.

PMID: 37280676 PMC: 10245528. DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02113-2.

Can microbiology help to make aviation more sustainable?.

Segura A, Jimenez L, Molina L Microb Biotechnol. 2022; 16(2):190-194.

PMID: 36511364 PMC: 9871514. DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.14191.

Insights into cyanobacterial alkane biosynthesis.

Parveen H, Yazdani S J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021; 49(2).

PMID: 34718648 PMC: 9118987. DOI: 10.1093/jimb/kuab075.

Synthesis of high-titer alka(e)nes in Yarrowia lipolytica is enabled by a discovered mechanism.

Li J, Ma Y, Liu N, Eser B, Guo Z, Jensen P Nat Commun. 2020; 11(1):6198.

PMID: 33273473 PMC: 7713262. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19995-0.

Sustainable Production of Microbial Isoprenoid Derived Advanced Biojet Fuels Using Different Generation Feedstocks: A Review.

Walls L, Rios-Solis L Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2020; 8:599560.

PMID: 33195174 PMC: 7661957. DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.599560.

References

Steen E, Kang Y, Bokinsky G, Hu Z, Schirmer A, McClure A . Microbial production of fatty-acid-derived fuels and chemicals from plant biomass. Nature. 2010; 463(7280):559-62. DOI: 10.1038/nature08721. View

Peralta-Yahya P, Zhang F, del Cardayre S, Keasling J . Microbial engineering for the production of advanced biofuels. Nature. 2012; 488(7411):320-8. DOI: 10.1038/nature11478. View

Lennen R, Pfleger B . Engineering Escherichia coli to synthesize free fatty acids. Trends Biotechnol. 2012; 30(12):659-67. PMC: 3856887. DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2012.09.006. View

Lau N, Matsui M, Al-Ashraf Abdullah A . Cyanobacteria: Photoautotrophic Microbial Factories for the Sustainable Synthesis of Industrial Products. Biomed Res Int. 2015; 2015:754934. PMC: 4496466. DOI: 10.1155/2015/754934. View

Lindberg P, Park S, Melis A . Engineering a platform for photosynthetic isoprene production in cyanobacteria, using Synechocystis as the model organism. Metab Eng. 2009; 12(1):70-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2009.10.001. View

Kolattukudy P . Solubilization, partial purification, and characterization of a fatty aldehyde decarbonylase from a higher plant, Pisum sativum. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2000; 377(2):341-9. DOI: 10.1006/abbi.2000.1798. View

Park M, Tanabe M, Hirata K, Miyamoto K . Isolation and characterization of a bacterium that produces hydrocarbons extracellularly which are equivalent to light oil. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2001; 56(3-4):448-52. DOI: 10.1007/s002530100683. View

Sukovich D, Seffernick J, Richman J, Gralnick J, Wackett L . Widespread head-to-head hydrocarbon biosynthesis in bacteria and role of OleA. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2010; 76(12):3850-62. PMC: 2893475. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00436-10. View

Blazeck J, Liu L, Knight R, Alper H . Heterologous production of pentane in the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. J Biotechnol. 2013; 165(3-4):184-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2013.04.003. View

10.

Manitchotpisit P, Price N, Leathers T, Punnapayak H . Heavy oils produced by Aureobasidium pullulans. Biotechnol Lett. 2011; 33(6):1151-7. DOI: 10.1007/s10529-011-0548-1. View

11.

Song X, Yu H, Zhu K . Improving alkane synthesis in Escherichia coli via metabolic engineering. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2015; 100(2):757-67. DOI: 10.1007/s00253-015-7026-y. View

12.

Jimenez-Diaz L, Caballero A, Perez-Hernandez N, Segura A . Microbial alkane production for jet fuel industry: motivation, state of the art and perspectives. Microb Biotechnol. 2016; 10(1):103-124. PMC: 5270751. DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.12423. View

13.

Oro J, Tornabene T, Nooner D, Gelpi E . Aliphatic hydrocarbons and fatty acids of some marine and freshwater microorganisms. J Bacteriol. 1967; 93(6):1811-8. PMC: 276696. DOI: 10.1128/jb.93.6.1811-1818.1967. View

14.

Banerjee A, Sharkey T . Methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway metabolic regulation. Nat Prod Rep. 2014; 31(8):1043-55. DOI: 10.1039/c3np70124g. View

15.

Zheng Y, Li L, Liu Q, Yang J, Wang X, Liu W . Optimization of fatty alcohol biosynthesis pathway for selectively enhanced production of C12/14 and C16/18 fatty alcohols in engineered Escherichia coli. Microb Cell Fact. 2012; 11:65. PMC: 3439321. DOI: 10.1186/1475-2859-11-65. View

16.

Peramuna A, Summers M . Composition and occurrence of lipid droplets in the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme. Arch Microbiol. 2014; 196(12):881-90. PMC: 4233187. DOI: 10.1007/s00203-014-1027-6. View

17.

Foo J, Susanto A, Keasling J, Leong S, Chang M . Whole-cell biocatalytic and de novo production of alkanes from free fatty acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2015; 114(1):232-237. PMC: 5132040. DOI: 10.1002/bit.25920. View

18.

Paul B, Das D, Ellington B, Marsh E . Probing the mechanism of cyanobacterial aldehyde decarbonylase using a cyclopropyl aldehyde. J Am Chem Soc. 2013; 135(14):5234-7. PMC: 3651851. DOI: 10.1021/ja3115949. View

19.

Yang L, Wang C, Zhou J, Kim S . Combinatorial engineering of hybrid mevalonate pathways in Escherichia coli for protoilludene production. Microb Cell Fact. 2016; 15:14. PMC: 4719686. DOI: 10.1186/s12934-016-0409-7. View

20.

Liu H, Wang Y, Tang Q, Kong W, Chung W, Lu T . MEP pathway-mediated isopentenol production in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. Microb Cell Fact. 2014; 13:135. PMC: 4172795. DOI: 10.1186/s12934-014-0135-y. View