Progress Report Gcep Project : " Synthesis of Biofuels on Bioelectrodes "
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چکیده
Introduction and objectives The proposed research explores the opportunities and bottlenecks of a novel approach for carbon-neutral synthesis of energy-dense transportation fuel from electrical energy (electrofuels). The technology is based on microbial CO2 fixation and biofuel production at cathodes in modified fuel cells by naturally occurring and genetically modified microbes. This approach takes advantage of known microbial enzymes, pathways, and organisms, but requires the engineering of novel pathways and communities for the production of biofuels as well as the engineering of the cathodic process. The technology is scalable and could be employed decentralized. The potentially game-changing attributes of this approach reside in several key opportunities: (i) it preserves the advantage of current types of internal combustion engines and energy-dense transportation fuels, and its wide use in light vehicles, (ii) it makes use of the existing electrical energy distribution system (grid), and (iii) it can be used as an energy buffer and storage platform for fluctuating availability of electrical power. The fundamental contribution of this research for basic science is in the advanced understanding of microbial interactions and electron transport pathways to a cell from electrically conducting surfaces, such as metal-oxide-minerals or electrodes. This research will substantially advance our basic understanding of microbial redox processes, hydrogenases and other low potential redox enzymes, and of microbial community engineering.
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تاریخ انتشار 2011