CHAPTER 13: Reverse Design of Natural Biomass Utilization Systems for Biomass Conversion
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Published:04 Nov 2013
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Special Collection: 2013 ebook collection , ECCC Environmental eBooks 1968-2022 , 2011-2015 environmental chemistry subject collectionSeries: Energy and Environment Series
R. D. Syrenne, S. Xie, J. Sun, and J. S. Yuan, in Biological Conversion of Biomass for Fuels and Chemicals: Explorations from Natural Utilization Systems, ed. J. Sun, S. Ding, and J. D. Peterson, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2013, pp. 237-247.
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Bioethanol produced from lignocellulosic feedstocks, such as grass, wood, and agricultural residues, offer an attractive option for a sustainable energy source. Rapid development and deployment of cost-competitive 2nd generation biofuels has made considerable progress in recent years, however, key conversion steps remain technically challenging. Natural biomass utilization systems (NBUS) show potential for reverse-designing cost-effective biorefineries that consolidate biomass conversion steps – pretreatment, hydrolysis, and ethanol fermentation - into a single bioprocessing event. Insect digestive systems and those of ruminant animals represent the pinnacle of NBUS systems for elucidating lignocellulosic deconstruction mechanisms and novel biocatalyst discovery. Emergence of new ‘omics technologies and systems biology approaches have facilitated understanding of complex and dynamic symbiotic interactions between host and gut microbes. Furthermore, synthetic biology has demonstrated that biomass conversion metabolic processes can be integrated into organisms more suited for tolerating high temperatures and inhibitory compounds prevalent in current biomass conversion technologies.