Team develops bioprocess for converting plant materials into valuable chemicals

A team of scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed a bioprocess using engineered yeast that completely and efficiently converted plant matter consisting of acetate and xylose into high-value bioproducts.

Lignocellulose, the woody material that gives plant cells their structure, is the most abundant raw material on Earth and has long been viewed as a source of renewable energy. It contains primarily acetate and the sugars glucose and xylose, all of which are released during decomposition.

Their methodology fully utilized the xylose and acetate from the cell walls of switchgrass, transforming the acetate from an unwanted byproduct into a valuable substrate that boosted the yeast’s efficiency at converting the sugars in the hydrosolates.

Read more at University of Illinois

Image Credit: L. Brian Stauffer

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