DEBOTTLENECKING AND DEPLOYING NOVEL MULTI-ENZYMATIC SYSTEMS FOR INDUSTRIAL BIO-BASED PROCESSES

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY IS ONE OF THE MOST POLLUTING, ENERGY AND RESOURCE INTENSIVE SECTORS NEEDING A SIGNIFICANT EFFORT TOWARDS THE GREEN TRANSITION. DEMUBI AIMS TO CONTRIBUTE TO A SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTION OF WASTE AND CO2 EMISSIONS, TURNING FEEDSTOCKS TO REPLACE FOSSIL-BASED RAW MATERIALS. THE PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO DEBOTTLENECK AND DEPLOY MULTI-ENZYMATIC SYSTEMS BY ADDRESSING BIO-BASED PROCESS BOTTLENECKS, SUCH AS CHEMO-PHYSICAL PROCESS CONDITIONS (TEMPERATURE, PH, SOLVENTS), BIOCATALYTIC REQUIREMENTS (SUBSTRATE/PRODUCT INHIBITION, COFACTOR DEPENDENCY, STABILITY), BIOCATALYST COST AND LOW PROCESS METRICS (PRODUCT CONCENTRATION, BIOCATALYST YIELD, VOLUMETRIC PRODUCTIVITY). THE PROJECT STRATEGY WILL BE BASED ON ENHANCING ROBUSTNESS AND FLEXIBILITY AS WELL AS REDUCING BIOCATALYSTS PRODUCTION COSTS BY: I) ECONOMICALLY & GREEN DRIVEN BIOCATALYST DESIGN AND PREPARATION II) SELF-SUFFICIENT HETEROGENEOUS BIOCATALYST PREPARATION AND III) FLEXIBILITY-ORIENTED PROCESS ENGINEERING. DEMUBI WILL VALIDATE THE PROJECT APPROACH BY THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTI-ENZYMATIC BIO-BASED PROCESS FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF A CHEMICAL BUILDING BLOCK. ACETOIN, DESIGNATED AS ONE OF TOP 30 SUGAR-DERIVED CHEMICALS BUILDING BLOCK BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, WILL BE PRODUCED FROM BIOETHANOL USING A NOVEL MULTI-ENZYMATIC PROCESS ENTAILING SEVERAL CHALLENGES THAT DEMUBI APPROACH SHOULD ADDRESS. DEMUBI WILL DEFINITELY ENHANCE EU BIO-BASED SECTOR COMPETITIVENESS, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE INDEPENDENCE CONTRIBUTING TO IMPROVE BIO-BASED PROCESSES ROBUSTNESS AND FLEXIBILITY. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO ENABLE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS OF BIO-BASED PROCESSES THROUGH RESOURCE EFFICIENT VALORIZATION OF SUSTAINABLE BIOMASS FEEDSTOCK AND PROMOTING THE REUSABILITY OF WASTES AS MATRICES FOR ENZYME IMMOBILIZATION WHILE ADDRESSING POLLUTION ISSUES IN CHEMICAL PRODUCTION PROCESSES.