This technology is a genetically modified sulfur oxidizing and iron-reducing bacterial strain that can produce biofuels and specialty chemicals from waste by-products.
Natural gas, a finite resource, must be replaced with a sustainable fuel source for generations to come. Additionally, industrial waste streams associated with natural gas fields accumulate large amounts of sulfur as a by-product, which is currently managed by fiscally and energy expensive chemical means. Genetically modified organisms that can produce biofuels and other valuable chemical products are a promising alternative due to their potential to utilize waste streams of industrial processes as a feed source for producing both biofuels and specialty chemicals. However, no organism to date has been identified for converting industrial-scale quantities of sulfur-based waste into biofuels or chemicals.
This method for producing biofuels employs genetically modified sulfur-oxidizing and iron-reducing bacterial (SOIRB) strains to populate two bioreactors. The bacteria in the first bioreactor produce isobutanol and an iron source for the second bioreactor, which in turn produces additional isobutanol and feedstock back to the first. Unlike existing methods for bio-processing sulfur-containing waste streams, these organisms grow in conditions that minimize potential contamination and do not require an expensive electron source. In this manner, the technology aims to close the fuel carbon cycle and reduce the extraction of raw hydrocarbons.
IR CU12175, CU16018, CU14270
Licensing Contact: Dovina Qu