industry
NEWS Californians engineer microbes to produce methyl halides University of California-San Francisco researchers have published a paper on their work with a bacteria and a yeast that have the potential to become a feedstock flexible process producing an intermediate chemical new to the biomass industry. Christopher Voigt, an associate professor in pharmaceutical chemistry at UCSF, was the principle investigator for the paper, “Synthesis of Methyl Halides from Biomass Using Engineered Microbes,” published online April 20 bytheJournaloftheAmericanChemicalSociety. The report can be viewed at http://pubs. acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja809461u. “In corn-to-ethanol, corn is the only feedstock and ethanol the only product,” Voigt said. In the UCSF process, the engineered bacteria/yeast duo have successfully converted sugarcane bagasse, corn stover,
switchgrass and poplar into methyl halide. While methyl halides are produced in nature at usually low volumes, it is a chemical familiar to the petrochemical industry that can be used in solvents, propellants and soil fumigants. Methyl halides can be manufactured into gasoline, olefins, aromatics, alcohols, ethers and other chemicals using zeolite catalysts. UCSF research uses synthetic metagenomics to identify and select enzymes that were then genetically engineered into brewer’s yeast to produce methyl halides instead of alcohol. The researchers grew their engineered yeast with a cellulose-eating bacteria originally isolated in the early 1980s from a French landfill. In the UCSF process, the yeast consumes the bacteria’s products in a symbiotic relationship providing a novel
conversion of biomass to the intermediate chemical. Several aspects of the process promise an energy efficient conversion process: the biomass is simply chopped finely and not chemically pre-processed; the microbes grow at 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit); and the methyl halides come off as a gas. The research team is now working on improving yields and rates. Work also needs to be done on the scalability of the fermentation and chemical catalysis of the methyl halide. The researchers have formed Biomex Inc. to help with commercialization, although the corporation is unfunded at this time. —Susanne Retka Schill
Have YOU ever thought of a portable sawmill as an INVESTMENT in your FUTURE?
What if we could show you that, in as little as two days of sawing a month, you could cover your monthly payment and running expenses for the whole month? You decide how many days you want to work and put extra profit back in your pocket? When you own a Wood-Mizer sawmill, you have a very unique advantage to make money and save money by sawing lumber. Now more than ever, sawmilling is a way not only to Make Dreams Come True, but also enjoy security and independence. Put Your Wood-Mizer to Work for You
s Make money sawing for others s Save money sawing your own lumber s Serve a niche market s Offer a unique product
Make the Most of Your Investment with These Business Tools:
FR The “Wood-Mizer & You: A Profitable Combination” booklet and CD gives you the full details on how to market your services along with specific examples and worksheet to help you calculate your own potential return on investment. ORDER YOUR FREE CD AND BOOKLET TODAY! This six educational DVD set on “The Edge on Sawing” will guide you to improve your sawing skills and get the most lumber out of it for your investment. REGULAR $59.95 9
ONLY $49.95 PART# DVDSPAK25
— Now MORE Than Ever! 800.553.0182 | www.woodmizer.com
$10 V VA VALUE A U UE E
Wood-Mizer & You A Profitable Combination
EE !
1