Biocatalysis

“I foresee the day when physiological chemistry will not only make use of the natural enzymes as agents, but when it will also prepare synthetic ferments for its purposes.”

Emil Fischer, Nobel Lecture, 1902

DSM and French starch producer Roquette announced they will jointly commercialize an innovative fermentation process to produce succinic acid. The process will be piloted at the Roquette site in Lestrem, France by the end of this year (2009), with full commercialization seen by 2011-2012. If successful, this will be a major step for White Biotechnology,replacing a petrochemical-based process with a greener, fermentation process. Read the new story here.

Typically, the term biofuels means transportation fuels. This is worth remembering because biological materials that include ethanol, vegetable oils, and animal fats have been used for centuries for cooking and lighting (think of alcohol burners, old-fashioned street lamps, candles). But today, almost no one is thinking about using biofuels for anything other than powering internal combustion engines (The idea is not a novel as it sounds; Henry Ford originally designed the Ford Model T to run on ethanol, not gasoline).

Currently there are two biofuels available in large enough quantities to have an impact on fuel consumption: bio-ethanol and biodiesel.  Bio-ethanol is essentially the same substance humans have been producing for 6000 years in beverages by fermenting sugars present in almost any starchy vegetable or sugary fruit. The main difference is the refining needed following distillation to produce ethanol to the substantial exclusion of water. Only then can it burn efficiently in a truck or automobile.

Biodiesel is completely different, chemically. It is produced by reacting plant or animal fats with methanol to produce long-chain fatty acid methyl esters, which can be blended in substantial amounts with traditional petroleum-derived diesel and used as a transportation fuel. Biodiesel is, in point of fact, a good fuel, and it is cleaner-burning than traditional diesel. On some farms all the tractors and farm equipment are run on 100% biodiesel. 

There are other biofuels–butanol and hydrocarbons, for example– in intense development. How good are these various bioifuels? Stay tuned, more information is forthcoming.

There is a steady buzz in the media about biofuels, and there are some strong opinions about this topic. At one extreme are people who believe that biofuels will save the world from a dependence on petroleum and stave off global warming. On the other side are those who think that biofuels are uneconomic and nothing more than the latest government-subsidized boondoggle. What is the real story? No one post can cover the topic comprehensively, but we are starting a series on biofuels that will go into detail about the biofuels products, the pros and cons of producing them,  and the leading companies in the field. Please register and comment; your feedback will be most welcome.

Ever wished you could find out how a compound could be degraded or biosynthesized? A great resource to help answer this questions is the U of  Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database, compiled and regularly updated by Prof. Larry Wackett and colleagues. IT contains 182 pathways, 1269 reactions, 177 compounds, 821 enzymes, 479 microorganism entries, and more. This is a great resource, and we will include it in our growing list of resources and link to it here.

Green chemistry and industrial biotechnology has penetrated a new market. De-icing fluid maker Kilfrost is incorporating 1,3-propanediol, produced by Loudon, TN-based DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, into a new line of aircraft deicers. According to the manufacturer, the new de-icing fluid has “serious green credentials” and outperforms existing de-icers. Current de-icing products are based on propylene glycol. This product marks an important breakthrough for biocatalysis and industrial biotechnology. I expect to be able to report on an increasing number of biotech-based green chemistry products in the future as biocatalysis becomes a more mainstream technology.

A good place to start is with definitions, to provide clarity about our subject.

Biocatalysis can be defined as the use of natural substances, which can be one or more enzymes or cells, living, dormant, or dead, to catalyze a chemical reaction or series of chemical reactions. Thus, biocatalysis includes the one-step enzymatic conversion of fumarate to aspartic acid (a component of the non-caloric sweetener aspartame), the two-step oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid (vinegar can be made this way), and the multi-step brewing of beer (quite likely the oldest example of biocatalysis, with historical records dating back 6000 years!).

A biocatalyst, then, is a natural substance, being an enzyme, cell, or a group of enzymes or cells catalyzing a chemical reaction or series of chemical reactions.

As we add content to this site, we will focus on the biocatalyst products available, their applications, their advantages, and the sources of those biocatalyst products, which may be both companies and academic institutions. We might even get opinionated!

There are no blogs–until now–focused on biocatalysis. We have plans to create a site devoted to biocatalysis and industrial biotechnology, loaded with useful information on applications of enzymes and biotechnology for industry. You will see examples of enzymatic processes to make chemicals, the latest in what enzymes are available and from whom, and thoughts about markets that include pharmaceutical intermediates, specialty and fine chemicals, large volume industrial chemicals, and biofuels. We will do our best to make the site both interesting and entertaining, and your comments will help in that regard, so please let us hear from you about what you read and what you would like to see.