Explore how ethanol, a humble byproduct, is emerging as a game-changer in the world of industrial biotechnology, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional sugar-based carbon sources.
Solving the Issue of Food Scarcity
But the human population has exploded and, as a result, food demands have soared forcing scientific concern about having to find other carbon sources for industrial biotechnology which do not compete with food supplies.
The biomanufacturing sector has traditionally sourced carbohydrate substrates from crop based sources rich in sugars or starches. Unfortunately, this method is becoming less and less viable as it actively strains already limited food produce. Now, a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Imperial College London has published a review about ethanol as an attractive renewable carbon source for this challenge.
Ethanol Is A Renewable Substrate And Highly Versatile
As ethanol results from different fermentation processes, it is a no-brainer to use it as an alternative carbon source compared to traditional sugar-based ones. Its renewability combined with the following features make this substrate highly attractive to the biomanufacturing industry.
This study systematically revealed the microbial metabolism pathways and ethanol tolerance mechanisms, which laid a theoretical foundation for industrial strain construction. The researchers hope that with this information, they can capitalize on ethanol’s potential to produce a variety of valuable products from bioplastics and pharmaceutical precursors to organic acids.
The project has also marked current advancements achieved in ethanol biosynthesis and ethanol-based biomanufacturing followed by showcasing the most recent progress accomplished in this domain. An important part of such innovation lies in the development of new methods and technologies to enable the full potential of ethanol as a renewable carbon source for sustainable industrial processes.
Conclusion
They suggest that their research is a potentially promising approach for addressing the resource challenge in biomanufacturing. Moving to ethanol as a renewable carbon source, Industry will be less dependent on finite food resources which will lead to a more sustainable & green future. This finding provides the key to generating new bioprocesses for industrial biotechnology and complying with enough requirements of high-quality products in a world that need to cater for food security.
