Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Biology, York University, Ontario, Canada.
N Biotechnol. 2017 Jul 25;37(Pt B):210-221. doi: 10.1016/j.nbt.2017.02.006. Epub 2017 Mar 9.
Apprehensions relating to global warming, climate change, pollution, rising energy demands as well as fluctuating crude oil prices and supply are leading to a shift in global interest to find suitable alternatives to fossil fuels. This review aims to highlight the many different facets of butanol as an advanced next-generation transportation biofuel. Butanol has fuel properties almost on a par with gasoline, such as high energy content, low vapor pressure, non-hygroscopic nature, less volatility, flexible fuel blends and high octane number. The paper reviews some recent advances in acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation with special emphasis on the primary challenges encountered in butanol fermentation, including butanol toxicity, solvent intolerance and bacteriophage contamination. The mechanisms for butanol recovery techniques have been covered along with their benefits and limitations. A comprehensive discussion of genetic and metabolic engineering of butanol-producing microorganisms is made for the prospective development of industrially-relevant strains that can overcome the technical challenges involved in efficient butanol production.
人们对全球变暖、气候变化、污染、能源需求不断上升以及原油价格和供应波动等问题感到担忧，这促使人们将兴趣转向寻找化石燃料的合适替代品。本文旨在强调丁醇作为先进的下一代运输生物燃料的诸多不同方面。丁醇具有与汽油相当的燃料特性，如高能量含量、低蒸气压、非吸湿性、挥发性低、燃料灵活性和高辛烷值。本文回顾了丙酮-丁醇-乙醇发酵的一些最新进展，特别强调了丁醇发酵中遇到的主要挑战，包括丁醇毒性、溶剂不耐受和噬菌体污染。本文还介绍了丁醇回收技术的机制，以及它们的优点和局限性。本文还全面讨论了生产丁醇的微生物的遗传和代谢工程，以期开发出能够克服高效生产丁醇所涉及的技术挑战的工业相关菌株。
