Chemical Engineering November 2013 - 12

CHEMENTATOR
(Continued from p. 10)
Bacteria engineered to make 'gasoline'
S
hort-chain hydrocarbons have been produced
for the first time by microbial
fermentation by a research team from the
Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
at the Korea Advanced Institute of
Science and Technology (KAIST; Daejeon,
South Korea, www.kaist.ac.kr), led by Prof
Sang Yup Lee.
There have been reports of the production
of long-chain hydrocarbons, consisting of
13 to 17 carbon atoms, suitable for replacing
diesel fuel, through metabolic engineering
of Escherichia coli. However, there have
been no reports on the microbial production
of short-chain hydrocarbons as a possible
substitute for gasoline.
The team has developed strains of E. coli
capable of producing short-chain hydrocarbons
suitable for use as gasoline by engineering
fatty acid biosynthesis and degradation
further processed mainly into
chrome tanning materials for
the global leather industry.
For the new unit, Shell
pathways. The team engineered the microbe's
fatty acid metabolism to provide fatty acid
derivatives that are shorter than normal intracellular
fatty acid metabolites. The strategies
used include the following: screening
of enzymes associated with the production
of fatty acids; engineering of enzymes and
fatty acid biosynthesis pathways to concentrate
carbon flux toward short-chain fatty
acid production; converting short-chain fatty
acids to their corresponding hydrocarbons by
introducing a novel synthetic pathway; and
optimization of culture conditions.
The new pathway involved a mutant fatty
acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase,
fatty acyl-CoA synthetase, fatty acyl-CoA
reductase and fatty aldehyde decarbonylase.
The team's strategy also allows for the production
of short-chain free fatty acids, fatty
esters and fatty alcohols.
A new catalyst for low-cost production of biodiesel fuel
D
aiki Axis Co. (Matsuyama City, Japan;
www.daiki-axis.com) has developed a
new solid catalyst for biodiesel fuel production
under the support of New Energy and
Industrial Technology Development Organization
(NEDO) under the authority of the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
(METI). The company's new catalyst, tradenamed
DX-G1, acts as a bi-functional catalyst
- simultaneously as both acid catalyst
and alkaline catalyst - for the synthesis
of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). DX-G1
is a pellet-type catalyst that is insoluble in
water and acidic media, and enables the
synthesis of FAME in a single-step reaction
whereby fatty oils and methanol flow
through a packed-bed reactor.
FAME yields of more than 98% have been
observed with DX-G1, compared to 85%
yields using conventional homogeneous catalysts.
The solid catalyst can be easily recovered
and reused, and the product contains
A new proppant
L
CanSolv (Montreal, Canada;
www.cansolv.com) supplied
the patented CO2-capture
process, engineering services
and its patented CO2 amine
absorbent. The CanSolv CO2
Capture System captures up to
90% of CO2 emissions. This is
CanSol's fi rst deployment of its
post-combustion capture system
in the chemicals production
industry.
no residual catalyst or soaps, which enables
fast separation of the high-purity (95%) byproduct,
glycerin. Eliminating the washing
steps needed to remove homogeneous catalysts
also means less wastewater generated.
These features combine to reduce production
costs by 30%, says the company. The
catalyst can be used continuously for more
than two years in a fixed bed. In contrast,
the homogeneous catalysts used in conventional
batch or semi-batch processes are
used only once.
Daiki Axis has completed over 1,000 h of
operation in a 1.5-ton/d pilot plant in which
the catalyst is used for producing FAME
that meets the Japanese (JIS K 2390) and
European (EN 14214) quality standards for
biodiesel fuel. The company plans to start
full-stage operation by 2015, in collaboration
with major companies, and is also planning
commercial FAME production in southeastern
Asia.
Biobutadiene
Last month, SK Innovation
(Seoul, South Korea; www.
sk.com) and LanzaTech
(Roselle, Ill.; www.lanzatech.
com) agreed to develop a new
process for making 1,3-butadiene
- a building-block for a
$20-million market that includes
synthetic rubber (for tires, belts,
hoses, seals and so on); molded
plastics; nylon 6,6; and chemical
intermediates for adhesives
and specialty chemicals. The
collaboration will accelerate the
commercialization of an alternative
route to butadiene, which is
becoming increasingly scarce
due to the move to ethane
cracking in the U.S.
The two companies will develop
and integrate SK Innovation's
petroleum-refi ning and
petrochemical technology with
LanzaTech's gas-fermentation
process (Chem. Eng., December
2010, p. 12), which converts
industrial waste gases and onpurpose
syngas into low-carbon
fuels and chemicals. The development
work will be performed
at SK Innovation's research
center in Daejeon, Korea.
ast month, Carbo Ceramics Inc. (Houston;
www.carboceramics.com) introduced
KryptoSphere, an ultra-conductive,
high-strength proppant technology designed
to maximize and sustain hydrocarbon
flow at high closure stresses for the
life of the well. Developed in response to a
request from a major operator in the U.S.
Gulf of Mexico, KryptoSphere is said to
deliver twice the baseline conductivity of
bauxite-based, high-strength proppants
at 22,000 psi closure stresses, according
to the company.
The improved performance is due to the
microstructure of the new proppant, which is
more spherical, more uniform and smoother
than other proppants. This property creates
more space in the fracture for hydrocarbon
flow as well as a more uniform flow path,
says the company.
12 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM NOVEMBER 2013
New gear pump
Last month at the K show
(Düsseldorf, Germany; October
16-23), Maag Pump Systems
(Oberglatt, Switzerland;
www.maag.com) launched
its sixth-generation series of
gear pumps. The company
says it redesigned every
single component featured in
its pump portfolio, from gears
and shafts through to bearings
and seals. For example,
a " vastly improved " volumetric
efficiency makes it possible
to operate at reduced speed,
(Continues on p. 14)
http://www.cansolv.com http://www.kaist.ac.kr http://www.sk.com http://www.lanzatech http://www.daiki-axis.com http://www.maag.com http://www.carboceramics.com http://WWW.CHE.COM
Chemical Engineering November 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering November 2013
