One step closer to renewable propane

Researchers from the University of Manchester have created a synthetic pathway for biosynthesis of the gas propane, bringing scientists one step closer to a renewable version of the fuel.

Writing in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels, the team explained that propane has “highly favourable physicochemical properties” that allow it to be stored and transported in a compressed liquid form. It is thus an “attractive target product in research aimed at developing new renewable alternatives to complement currently used petroleum-derived fuels”.

Natural metabolic pathways for the renewable biosynthesis of propane do not exist, but the team from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) have developed an alternative microbial biosynthetic pathway to produce renewable propane. Collaborating with Imperial College London and the University of Turku, the researchers modified existing fermentative butanol pathways using an engineered enzyme variant to redirect the microbial pathway to produce propane as opposed to butanol. The team was able to achieve propane biosynthesis, creating a platform for next-generation microbial propane production.

“This study focused on the construction and evaluation of alternative microbial biosynthetic pathways for the production of renewable propane,” said MIB Director Professor Nigel Scrutton. “It also expands the metabolic toolbox for renewable propane production, providing new insight and understanding of the development of next-generation biofuels which one day could lead to commercial production.”

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