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RESEARCHERS have discovered a bacterium which simultaneously removes impurities from biomass for biofuels and produces a raw material for PET production.

When biomass such as corn stover, wood or sugarcane bagasse is broken down into its component sugars, this tends to generate the furan aldehyde 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) as a byproduct. The furans must be removed prior to further processing into biofuels, and the standard process is neither cheap nor environmentally friendly. Frank Koopman, of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientfic Research (NWO) and colleagues at Delft University of Technology found that the bacterium Cupriavidus basilensis may offer  solution as it consumes HMF and breaks down the byproducts.

Not only that, but the bacterium produces furan dicarboxylic acid (FCDA) from HMF, which can act as precursor in the production of PET. Koopman and his colleagues analysed the digestive processes of C. basliensis to determine which enzymes were responsible for the transformation. Once the enzymes had been identified, the genes coding for its prooduction were inserted into Pseudomonas putida bacteria, which is more suitable for culture in the laboratory, and allows high concentrations of FCDA to be produced.

The US Department of Energy has listed FCDA as one of the 12 most promising biological materials for the chemical industry.