Li Jingen, Liu Qian, Liu Defei, Zhang Yongli, Zheng Xiaomei, Zhu Xinna, Liu Pingping, Gao Le, Wang Jingting, Lin Yuping, Zhang Yiheng, Zhang Xueli, Tian Chaoguang
Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.
National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China.
Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao. 2022 Nov 25;38(11):4283-4310. doi: 10.13345/j.cjb.220584.
Plant biomass represents a vast resource of carbon. In China, it is estimated that 1 billion tons of biomass is available each year. The conversion of these biomass resources into bioethanol or other bio-based chemicals, if fully commercialized, may reduce at least 200 million tons of crude oil import. Therefore, bioethanol and bulk chemicals are the core components of the biomanufacturing using plant biomass as carbon sources. Since the foundation of Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (TIB, CAS), we have proposed a strategy of "two replacements and one upgrade". Utilizing renewable carbon resources instead of non-renewable petrochemical resources to produce bulk chemicals is included in our strategy. It is a long-term effort for TIB to develop plant biomass biomanufacturing to produce renewable chemicals. Continuous and systematic research was carried out in these two fields, and significant progress has been made in the past 10 years since the foundation of TIB. Here we review the progress of TIB in this field, mainly focusing on fungal system, including the mechanism of cellulose degradation by filamentous fungi and the strategy of consolidated bioprocessing of biomass. Based on this, malic acid, fuel ethanol and other bulk chemicals were produced through one-step conversion of biomass. Besides, the commercial processes for production of bulk chemicals such as succinic and lactic acid from renewable carbon resources, which were developed by TIB, were also be discussed. These examples clearly demonstrated that bulk chemicals can be obtained from biomass instead of from petroleum. Research on plant biomass biotransformation and renewable chemicals production in TIB has provided an alternative route for the development of low-carbon bioeconomy in China, and will contribute to the goal of carbon neutralization of China.
植物生物质是一种巨大的碳资源。在中国，据估计每年有10亿吨生物质可用。如果这些生物质资源转化为生物乙醇或其他生物基化学品能够完全商业化，那么每年至少可以减少2亿吨原油进口。因此，生物乙醇和大宗化学品是利用植物生物质作为碳源进行生物制造的核心组成部分。自中国科学院天津工业生物技术研究所（TIB，CAS）成立以来，我们提出了“两个替代、一个升级”的战略。利用可再生碳资源替代不可再生石化资源来生产大宗化学品就包含在我们的战略之中。TIB致力于发展植物生物质生物制造以生产可再生化学品，这是一项长期工作。在这两个领域开展了持续且系统的研究，自TIB成立以来的过去10年里取得了显著进展。在此，我们回顾TIB在该领域的进展，主要聚焦于真菌系统，包括丝状真菌降解纤维素的机制以及生物质的整合生物加工策略。在此基础上，通过生物质的一步转化生产了苹果酸、燃料乙醇等大宗化学品。此外，还将讨论TIB开发的从可再生碳资源生产琥珀酸和乳酸等大宗化学品的商业工艺。这些实例清楚地表明，大宗化学品可以从生物质而非石油中获得。TIB对植物生物质生物转化和可再生化学品生产的研究为中国低碳生物经济的发展提供了一条替代途径，并将有助于实现中国的碳中和目标。
