Lignocellulosic Biomass for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts: Workshop Report, DOE/SC-0170
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DRAFT: February 2015 Bioenergy Workshop June 23–24, 2014, Washington, D.C. Convened by U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Office of Biological and Environmental Research Co-Chairs Erich Grotewold, Ph.D Kristala L. Jones Prather, Ph.D Ohio State University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Organizer Biological Systems Science Division Kent Peters, Ph.D. [email protected] 301.903.5549 http://genomicscience.energy.gov/biofuels/lignocellulose/ Mission The Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) advances world-class fundamental research programs and scientific user facilities to support the Department of Energy’s energy, environment, and basic research missions. Addressing diverse and critical global challenges, the BER program seeks to understand how genomic information is translated to functional capabilities, enabling more confident redesign of microbes and plants for sustainable biofuel production, improved carbon storage, or contaminant bioremediation. BER research advances understanding of the roles of Earth’s biogeochemical systems (the atmosphere, land, oceans, sea ice, and subsurface) in determining climate so that it can be predicted decades or centuries into the future, information needed to plan for energy and resource needs. Solutions to these challenges are driven by a foundation of scientific knowledge and inquiry in atmospheric chemistry and physics, ecology, biology, and biogeochemistry. Cover Credits Brown Column: From top to bottom. Poplar tree tops (Oak Ridge National Laboratory). Switchgrass (U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service). Atomic force micrograph showing nanometer-scale detail of interwoven rope-like, lignocellulosic microfibril bundles in a switchgrass cell wall (BioEnergy Science Center and National Renewable Energy Laboratory). Scanning electron micrograph of Clostridium cellulolyticum cells growing on switchgrass (BioEnergy Science Center and National Renewable Energy Laboratory). Green Background: Biorefinery at top (iStock) and switchgrass at bottom (Oak Ridge National Laboratory). Suggested citation for this report: U.S. DOE. 2015. Lignocellulosic Biomass for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts: Workshop Report, DOE/SC-0170. U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. http://genomicscience.energy.gov/biofuels/lignocellulose/. DOE/SC-0170 Lignocellulosic Biomass for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Workshop Report Published: February 2015 Office of Biological and Environmental Research i Lignocellulosic Biomass for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts ii U.S. Department of Energy • Office of Science • Office of Biological and Environmental Research February 2015 Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................... v Introduction ................................................................................................1 Biomass Development ...............................................................................9 State of the Science ....................................................................................9 Remaining Biological Research Challenges ...............................................11 Understanding Cell Wall Synthesis, Structure, and Function .................................11 Optimizing Carbon Delivery for Lignocellulose Production ...................................12 Increasing Biomass Yields ..............................................................................13 Ensuring Sustainability .................................................................................14 Key Research Opportunities ......................................................................15 Short Term .................................................................................................15 Long Term ..................................................................................................15 Lignocellulose Deconstruction ...............................................................17 State of the Science ..................................................................................17 Remaining Biological Research Challenges ...............................................22 Pretreatments .............................................................................................22 Enzymes ....................................................................................................23 Microorganisms ...........................................................................................24 Analytical Tools ...........................................................................................25 Biotechnological Tools ..................................................................................25 Plants ........................................................................................................26 Key Research Opportunities ......................................................................27 Short Term .................................................................................................27 Long Term ..................................................................................................27 Specialty Fuels ..........................................................................................29 State of the Science ..................................................................................29 Remaining Biological Research Challenges ...............................................32 Predicting Process Feasibility—Picking Products, Pathway Designs, Yield, Selectivity, and Rate .................................................................................32 Increasing the Diversity of Microbial Platforms—Building and Testing Strains ........34 Key Research Opportunities ......................................................................38 Short Term .................................................................................................38 Long Term ..................................................................................................38 Bioproduct Development from Biomass...............................................39 State of the Science ..................................................................................39 Remaining Biological Research Challenges ...............................................42 Utilizing Bioproducts Resulting from Underutilized Byproduct Streams from Biofuels Production ...........................................................................42 Developing Bioproducts from Sugar Streams Generated During Deconstruction .......45 February 2015 U.S. Department of Energy • Office of Science • Office of Biological and Environmental Research iii Lignocellulosic Biomass for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Key Research Opportunities ......................................................................47 Short Term .................................................................................................47 Long Term ..................................................................................................47 Summary and Conclusions ......................................................................49 Appendices ................................................................................................53 Appendix 1. Workshop Agenda ..................................................................54 Appendix 2. Workshop Scope ....................................................................56 Appendix 3. Workshop Tasks, Charge Questions .........................................57 Appendix 4. Workshop Participants ...........................................................59 Appendix 5. Bibliography .........................................................................61 Acronyms and Abbreviations ........................................... Inside back cover iv U.S. Department of Energy • Office of Science • Office of Biological and Environmental Research February 2015 Executive Summary ultiple societal benefits underlie the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) support for a viable and sustainable domestic lignocellulosic advanced biofuels and bioproducts industry. These benefits include Mensuring future energy security, lowering greenhouse gases to mitigate climate impacts, diversifying the range of available products, producing less toxic chem- icals and byproducts, creating jobs in rural areas, and improving the trade bal- ance. A DOE workshop sought ways to realize these benefits by accelerating the emergence of a robust, new cellulosic ethanol industry. The resulting report, Breaking the Biological Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol (U.S. DOE 2006), outlined a path toward this future, emphasizing integrated research from feedstock devel- opment to conversion technologies. Since then, DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), operating within the Office of Science, has supported transformational bioen- ergy research through the vertically integrated DOE Bioenergy Research Cen- ters and development of biomass feedstocks and biofuels-relevant microbes. A number of important breakthroughs have resulted from this fundamental research and include the (1) demonstration that lignin composition and deposi- tion can be genetically engineered to reduce plant cell wall recalcitrance without impacting plant viability; (2) development of effective pretreatments that can be adapted commercially to lower costs; (3) discoveries of novel microbes and enzymatic pathways for more efficient