Novel Biological Conversion of Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide Directly into Biodiesel, Cooperative Research and Development, Final Report

摘要

OPX Biotechnologies, Inc. (OPX), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Johnson Matthey will develop and optimize a novel, engineered microorganism that directly produces biodiesel from renewable hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The proposed process will fix CO2 utilizing H2 to generate an infrastructure-compatible, energy-dense fuel at costs of less than $2.50 per gallon, with water being produced as the primary byproduct. NREL will perform metabolic engineering on the bacterium Cupriavidus necator (formerly Ralstonia eutropha) and a techno-economic analysis to guide future scale-up work. H2 and CO2 uptakes rates will be genetically increased, production of free fatty acids will be enhanced and their degradation pathway blocked in order to meet the ultimate program goals.