Branched-Chain Higher Alcohols - Biotechnology in China: Biofuels and Bioenergy - page 101

Branched-Chain Higher Alcohols

Bao-Wei Wang, Ai-Qin Shi, Ran Tu, Xue-Li Zhang,
Qin-Hong Wang and Feng-Wu Bai

Abstract China's energy requirements and environmental concerns have
stimulated efforts toward developing alternative liquid fuels. Compared with fuel
ethanol, branched-chain higher alcohols (BCHAs), including isopropanol, isobu-
tanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, and 3-methyl-1-butanol, exhibit significant advantages,
such as higher energy density, lower hygroscopicity, lower vapor pressure, and
compatibility with existing transportation infrastructures. However, BCHAs
have not been synthesized economically using native organisms, and thus their
microbial production based on metabolic engineering and synthetic biology offers
an alternative approach, which presents great potential for improving production
efficiency. We review the current status of production and consumption of BCHAs
and research progress regarding their microbial production in China, especially
with the combination of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology.

Keywords Alcohol tolerance Biofuels Branched-chain higher alcohols
Metabolic engineering Synthetic biology

Contents

1 Introduction........................................................................................................................ 102

2 Market Consumption and Supply of BCHAs in China ................................................... 104

2.1 Fuel Market Analysis ............................................................................................... 104

2.2 Isopropanol................................................................................................................ 105

2.3 Isobutanol .................................................................................................................. 106

2.4 2-Methyl-1-butanol, and 3-Methyl-1-butanol .......................................................... 107

3 Background and R & D Platforms for Microbial Production of BCHAs ...................... 108

3.1 Background ............................................................................................................... 108

3.2 R & D Platforms....................................................................................................... 108

4 Update on Progress in Microbial Production of BCHAs ................................................ 109

B.-W. Wang A.-Q. Shi R. Tu X.-L. Zhang Q.-H. Wang ( )

Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Tianjin 300308, China
e-mail: [e-mail]
F.-W. Bai
School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Dalian University of Technology,
Dalian 116023, China

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