US scientists genetically modified bacteria to synthesize high energy biofuels

High energy fuels are important when fuel weight needs to be minimized Pinene, a compound extracted from trees, has been dimerized to form pinene dimer It has been proved that its energy density is equivalent to JP-10 Scientists from Georgia Institute of technology and the United Bioenergy Research Institute transformed bacteria through genetic engineering to make pinene, which is expected to replace JP-10 in missile launching and other aviation fields The supply of JP-10 from petroleum is limited In the future, biofuels are expected to make up the shortage and even promote the development of new generation engines The research was published recently in the journal synthetic biology of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Stephen sharia, the first author of the paper and a graduate student of Georgia Institute of technology, has increased the production of pinene by six times under the guidance of pamala perata Yahya, an associate professor of Georgia Institute of technology, in the early stage of bioengineering research, according to the organization network of physicists on March 26 They are studying alternative enzymes and inserting them into E.coli to produce pinene The selected enzymes are divided into two categories: three PS (pinene synthetase) and three GPP (geranyl diphosphate synthetase) The best combination is found through experiments to obtain the highest yield At present, they have increased their output to 32 mg / L But to compete with JP-10 from oil, production will have to increase 26 times, perata Yahya said, but it is also within the possible range of bioengineering E.coli According to perata Yahya, the current obstacle lies in an inhibition process within the system "We found that the enzyme was inhibited by the substrate, which was dependent on the concentration." "What we need now is an enzyme that will not be inhibited in a high concentration of the substrate, or a way to maintain a low concentration of the substrate throughout the reaction," she said Both are difficult, but they are not insurmountable " The limited amount of JP-10 that can be extracted from a barrel of oil, together with the little help from tree extracts, makes the price of JP-10 around 25 cents / gallon due to insufficient supply, so the production of high-energy biofuel alternatives is more advantageous than the production of gasoline or diesel alternatives "If you're looking at alternatives to gasoline, you're going to compete with 3 cents per gallon, which takes a long-term optimization process." "And we're competing with 25 cents a gallon, which takes less time," said perata Yahya "Although we are still at the level of a few mg / L, because the alternatives we are studying are more valuable than diesel or gasoline alternatives, it means that we are closer to the target." She said Theoretically, it is possible to make the cost of pinene production lower than that of petroleum refining If the final biofuel performs well, it will open a new door for light and high-energy engine fuel and increase the supply of high-energy fuel "We're building a sustainable, high energy density strategic fuel, but it's still in its early form," said perata Yahya "We're focusing on making a 'pilot' fuel that looks like fuel from oil to adapt to the current marketing system."