Scientists and engineers at North Carolina State University have discovered trees can be used to produce greener, environmentally safer industrial chemicals that don't contain petroleum.
However, the team identified one major problem that would make it difficult to turn trees into cleaner chemicals: a polymer called lignin that makes the cellulose in trees resistant to degradation. As part of the research, scientists honed in on a key molecular property of lignin known as methoxy content that could determine the viability of using microbial fermentation to transform the trees.
To circumvent the high lignin issue, the team changed the genetic makeup of poplar trees to reduce its presence in the cells, using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, also known as CRISPR technology. The result? The group found that some of the genetically modified trees responded well to microbial degradation and fermentation.
"We can harness the ability of certain thermophilic bacteria from hot springs in places like Yellowstone National Park to eat the plant matter and convert it to products of interest. However, these bacteria have varying appetites for different types of plants," former Ph.D. student Ryan Bing, who is now a senior metabolic engineer, said in a news release on the study.
In a follow-up study, Bing and Robert Kelly, the co-author of the research, found that engineered poplars that had both low lignin and low methoxy content were the best candidates to make eco-friendly chemicals using the fermentation process.
Kelly's team has already proved that low lignin poplar trees can be transformed into hydrogen gas and acetone. Now, the research paves the way for other industrial chemicals that are economically and environmentally friendly.
The team has recently launched field trials of genetically modified poplar trees to determine the right formula for turning the trees into chemicals. They also highlighted the fact that certain microorganisms break down cellulose even better than enzymes and chemicals, helping save energy and production costs.
Coming up with sustainable ways to make chemicals is crucial to weaning off dirty fuels like oil and gas that are driving up global temperatures and causing increasingly erratic weather.
Lignin is also being used in Europe to make sustainable batteries, and banana tree fibers are being employed to create bicycle and automotive parts. As it turns out, trees have a lot more to offer than simply providing us with oxygen and absorbing carbon.
"One promising solution lies in harnessing trees to meet society's needs for chemicals, fuels and other bio-based products while safeguarding both the planet and human well-being," Daniel Sulis, another author on the paper, said.
"These findings not only move the field forward but also lay the groundwork for further innovations in using trees for sustainable bio-based applications."
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