TY - JOUR
T1 - Biosynthesis, regulation, and engineering of microbially produced branched biofuels
AU - Bai, Wenqin
AU - Geng, Weitao
AU - Wang, Shaojie
AU - Zhang, Fuzhong
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s).
PY - 2019/4/13
Y1 - 2019/4/13
N2 - The steadily increasing demand on transportation fuels calls for renewable fuel replacements. This has attracted a growing amount of research to develop advanced biofuels that have similar physical, chemical, and combustion properties with petroleum-derived fossil fuels. Early generations of biofuels, such as ethanol, butanol, and straight-chain fatty acid-derived esters or hydrocarbons suffer from various undesirable properties and can only be blended in limited amounts. Recent research has shifted to the production of branched-chain biofuels that, compared to straight-chain fuels, have higher octane values, better cold flow, and lower cloud points, making them more suitable for existing engines, particularly for diesel and jet engines. This review focuses on several types of branched-chain biofuels and their immediate precursors, including branched short-chain (C4-C8) and long-chain (C15-C19)-alcohols, alkanes, and esters. We discuss their biosynthesis, regulation, and recent efforts in their overproduction by engineered microbes.
AB - The steadily increasing demand on transportation fuels calls for renewable fuel replacements. This has attracted a growing amount of research to develop advanced biofuels that have similar physical, chemical, and combustion properties with petroleum-derived fossil fuels. Early generations of biofuels, such as ethanol, butanol, and straight-chain fatty acid-derived esters or hydrocarbons suffer from various undesirable properties and can only be blended in limited amounts. Recent research has shifted to the production of branched-chain biofuels that, compared to straight-chain fuels, have higher octane values, better cold flow, and lower cloud points, making them more suitable for existing engines, particularly for diesel and jet engines. This review focuses on several types of branched-chain biofuels and their immediate precursors, including branched short-chain (C4-C8) and long-chain (C15-C19)-alcohols, alkanes, and esters. We discuss their biosynthesis, regulation, and recent efforts in their overproduction by engineered microbes.
KW - Advanced biofuels
KW - Branched alcohols
KW - Branched fatty acids
KW - Branched fuels
KW - Cyclopropane fatty acid
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064349678&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s13068-019-1424-9
DO - 10.1186/s13068-019-1424-9
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85064349678
SN - 1754-6834
VL - 12
JO - Biotechnology for Biofuels
JF - Biotechnology for Biofuels
IS - 1
M1 - 84
ER -