Microbes move researchers one step closer to biofuels from biomass

We mention this periodically and should be gladdened at every occasion. University researchers and scientists from all over campus, from engineering to genetics, have been working on various aspects of creating renewable fuels for decades. Now, one group of UGA researchers has moved closer to producing biofuels from biomass, in this case by focusing on microbes in the fermentation process.

The single most important barrier to the use of lignocellulosic biomass such as switchgrass, populous, sorghum and miscanthus for production of biofuels is the resistant nature of the biomass itself. The problem lies in the conversion or degradation of complex biomass to make products of interest.

New research from scientists at the University of Georgia who are members of Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) provides a genetic method for manipulating a group of organisms, called Caldicellulosiruptor, that have the ability to use biomass directly at temperatures over 160 Fahrenheit. The ability to modify the microbes to make the needed fuel products is a required first step for modern industrial fermentations. This allows researchers to combine the natural ability to consume renewable plant materials with an altered improved ability to make what is needed.

"The most formidable barrier to the use of biomass, such as switchgrass, to biofuels is the ability to break down the biomass. Plants have evolved over millions of years to resist degradation by microbes, and that is exactly what we want to do," said Janet Westpheling, a microbial geneticist in the department of genetics in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and a scientist of BESC. "The ability to manipulate the genetics of organisms that can use biomass directly is essential to making them useful. We began with a group of bacteria that can use biomass for growth and will use genetics to teach them to make ethanol."

The reality of breakthroughs like this becoming more and more commonplace is encouraging, yet also misleading. Such developments are the result of painstaking years of work in the laboratory, creative imagination and perserverence. At some point we will all begin to take renewable transporation fuels for granted, but it will only be the result of years of hard work, massive investments of time, money and effort, and probably a significant amount of good fortune in building the needed the facilities and attracting the right people. There is probably no better example of the academy as the key to leveraging this diversity of resources, all for the benefit of the public good. These scientists are visionaries and deserve our thanks and congratulations; and so do the people who planned our system of public universities. See Morrill Act, The.

Image: UGA photo of Janet Westpheling, center, and her colleagues, Dae-hwan Chung, left, and Minseok Cha.