Award details

SBRC NOTTINGHAM: Sustainable Routes to Platform Chemicals

Reference	BB/L013940/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Nigel Minton
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Professor Cameron Alexander, Professor David Barrett, Professor Alex Conradie, Professor Chenyu Du, Professor Jonathan Garibaldi, Dr Stephan Heeb, Professor Thomas Hodgman, Professor John King, Professor Peter Licence, Dr Alison Mohr, Professor Brigitte Nerlich, Professor Gregory Tucker, Dr Jamie Twycross, Dr Klaus Winzer, Dr Ying Zhang
Institution	University of Nottingham
Department	School of Life Sciences
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	14,242,856
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	31/07/2014
End date	31/03/2022
Duration	92 months

Abstract

THE AIM: SBRC Nottingham will focus on the sustainable and economically viable production of platform/speciality chemicals through SynBio-engineered, gas fermenting microbes capable of using single carbon (C1) feedstocks. THE NEED: Much current attention is focused on deriving microbial production chassis for the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. Until now, the emphasis has been on lignocellulosic fermentative processes that use non-food plant biomass. However, developing economic processes that efficiently convert plant material into the necessary sugar feedstock is proving challenging. THE SOLUTION: Nottingham's groundbreaking alternative approach is to use gas-fermenting microbes that are able to grow on C1 gases, such as CO and CO2. These may be derived from non-food sources such as waste gases from industry ( e.g., steel manufacturing, oil refining, coal and natural/shale gas) as well as 'synthesis gas' (CO & H2) produced from sustainable resources, such as biomass and domestic/ agricultural wastes. This enables a wide range of valuable advanced fuels and chemicals to be produced in any industrialized geography without consumption of valuable food or land resources. THE GOALS: Nottingham is already working on an anaerobic gas fermenting chassis with LanzaTech, Evonik, Lanxess and, through CPI, to a wider network of industrial companies. Building on this activity, the major SBRC thrust will be to develop a chassis for aerobic gas fermentations and to use it to implement pathways for chemicals that are more favourably produced in a respiring organism. THE OUTPUTS: Ethylene, propylene, iso-butene, butadiene and isoprene make ideal nodes within the chemical network as their volatile nature simplifies extraction, they have huge industry demand and they provide the basis for a wide range of valuable downstream products such as fuels, tyres, high tech performance polymers/ coatings and personal care products and pharmaceuticals.

Summary

In our search for better medicines to improve healthcare in an ageing population, for safer agrochemicals to aid food production for a growing population, and for advanced materials for new technologies, the global demand for molecules based upon a group of relatively simple carbon based molecules (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and benzene) continues to increase. Sadly current petroleum and natural gas based supply chains simply can't continue to expand to meet this burgeoning need. We can only close this increasing gap between supply and demand by innovating and solving serious scientific challenges. Funded by the BBSRC and other UK research councils (EPSRC/TSB), the UK Government has initiated the creation of a number of multidisciplinary Synthetic Biology Research Centres (SBRC) charged with the accelerating the realisation of the benefits of the outputs of Synthetic Biology to business and society. Synthetic biology is "the design and engineering of biologically based parts, novel devices and systems as well as the redesign of existing, natural biological systems". It is a newly emerged scientific discipline that has arisen through the merger of several core areas of science, principally biology, engineering, chemistry and Information Communication Technology (ICT). Synthetic Biology has the potential to create new products and processes by engineering biological systems to perform new functions in a modular, reliable and predictable way, allowing modules to be reused in different contexts. The Nottingham SBRC will use Synthetic Biology to engineer microorganisms that can be used to manufacture the molecules and fuels that modern society needs in a cleaner and greener way. We will harness the ability of organisms, to 'eat' single-carbon containing gases, such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). When these gases are injected into the liquid medium of fermentation vessels they are consumed by the bacterium and converted into more desirable and useful molecules. Fortunately CO, our initial target, is an abundant resource, and a waste product of industries such as steel manufacturing, oil refining and chemical production. Moreover, it can be readily generated in the form of Synthesis Gas ('Syngas'), by the gasification (heating) of forestry and agricultural residues, municipal waste and coal. By allowing the use of all these available low cost, non-food resources, such a process both overcomes concerns over the use of land resources that could be used for food production. Furthermore, capturing the large volume of CO (destined to become CO2 once released into the atmosphere) emitted by industry for fuel and chemical production provides a net reduction in fossil carbon emissions. We will also develop new organisms that can grow on the sugar (glucose and xylose) released from the deconstruction of biomass, derived from municipal waste, agricultural residues and specialist crops grown on land that is unsuitable for food production. The core scientific aims of the SBRC at Nottingham, therefore, will be to specify, design, test, validate and exploit microbial cell factories needed for the efficient production of the chemical that are essential for a modern industrial society. Through effective communication and promotion we will showcase new science and demonstrate how organism can make important molecules that will take the place of current fossil fuel based feedstocks. We will improve the current public perception of the scientific community and show how innovation can lead to economic and environmental benefits. We are passionate about sustainability and we believe we can share this vision to the rest of the UKs scientific community and the general public who use our products.

Impact Summary

Trends in capital investment within the chemicals sector suggests that the bulk and speciality chemicals sectors, both of which have traditionally been strengths of the UK production industry, are following the pharmaceuticals sector to SE Asia. If the UK is to remain competitive across the Bulk and Speciality chemicals sectors we must forge a new generation of processes with intrinsic emphasis on efficiency, process integration and resource management. Developing technology platforms with a reduced dependence on traditional petroleum based materials is acknowledged as the only long-term solution to sustainability. Looking at local market rationale for this SBRC proposition, the chemical-using industries continue to be one of the strongest sectors of the UK economy, employing 230,000 highly skilled people, spending £3.5 billion on R&D and the UK's top manufacturing export earner. Its products are the basis for almost every manufacturing activity. However, it is also energy-intensive and almost totally dependent on imported petroleum as its basic raw material. It is vulnerable to rising global oil prices and disruption to global oil supplies. This SBRC will strategically de-risk this reliance on petroleum, delivering supply chain security and reducing environmental. Almost every major chemical company has set ambitious targets to lower their carbon footprint, or even to become carbon neutral. To achieve this there must be re-alignment from fossil fuel dependencies and efficient use of carbon in its simplest forms, specifically of C1 gases that may be generated as by-products from other existing processes (CO, CO2 and CH4). Specifically Nottingham SBRC will deliver impact in the following sectors: ECONOMY: Sustainability is the major issue facing the global chemical industry. Not only is there concern for our environment, there is also is a strong economic driver. Shareholders place emphasis on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (http://www.sustainability-index.com) that tracks the performance of the chemicals industry and engenders competition. A commitment to responsible innovation, and the application of SynBio as a key platform to products will secure the UK lead in innovation and chemicals production. PEOPLE: There is a clear and increasing demand for highly qualified technologists that are trained to lead innovation and manage the deployment of SynBio based techniques into industry. SBRC offers a market driven "shared vision" towards products and processes. SBRC will deliver highly skilled individuals via the SBRC linked DTC that will be well placed to influence and manage the required change to sustainable working practices across chemical manufacturing industries. SOCIETY: The diverse range of products manufactured by the chemical-using industries is vital to maintaining a high quality of life in the UK, SBRC will have a direct impact on this activity by ensuring a supply of people and new knowledge to secure sustainability of the sector for the benefit of all. The "green and sustainable" agenda is now firmly fixed in the public consciousness, SBRC will be an exemplar of how scientists and engineers can provide real solutions to very challenging scientific and technical problems, for the benefit of society KNOWLEDGE: In addition to increasing the supply of highly trained people, the results of research performed in our SBRC will have a major impact on knowledge. Via synthetic biology SBRC researchers will tackle "big problems" in sustainable chemistry, and via our industrial partners we will ensure that new knowledge is applied in industry. Knowledge based activity will drive innovation and economic activity for UK PLC creating new jobs and securing the future.

Committee	Research Committee D (Molecules, cells and industrial biotechnology)
Research Topics	Bioenergy, Industrial Biotechnology, Microbiology, Synthetic Biology
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	Synthetic Biology Research Centres (SBRC) [2013-2014]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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