Innovate in the production of bioethanol through cheaper technologies. This is the proposal of the Advanced Second Generation Biofuels Laboratory (A2G). Housed at the Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG) and at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering (FEQ), A2G is one of the Unicamp projects covered by the São Paulo Excellence Chair (SPEC), a Fapesp program that promotes the arrival of foreign specialists for the creation of research centers at universities in São Paulo.
The Laboratory is directed by Lee Rybeck Lynd, from Dartmouth College, and has a team of associated researchers from the North American university and Unicamp, as well as local postgraduate students in the areas of Genetics, Molecular Biology and Chemical Engineering.
A frequent visitor to the country, Lynd was at Unicamp in December 2021 to continue the dialogue with scientific and business leaders, in the search for new partnerships for A2G research. "There are important motivations in carrying out international projects", he comments on the opportunity to expand research in his laboratory at Dartmouth College, the Lynd Lab. "The Unicamp institutions linked to the A2G Lab are interested in expanding their participation in international groups. Brazil It's a great place to develop this type of project, perhaps one of the best in the world", he says.
Exchange between Brazil and the United States
Lynd has been carrying out research on cellulosic ethanol production since her postgraduate studies. At Dartmouth College, she leads activities aimed at reducing the costs of producing cellulose biofuels. "Biofuels are related to practically everything: economic development, natural habitats, carbon storage, food production and other consumer goods. I have always been involved with comprehensive approaches, thinking about how technologies can be implemented and improved, especially in developing countries", explains the researcher.
Since 2009, he has presided over Global Sustainable Bioenergy (GSB), a project supported by Fapesp that promoted meetings on five continents to discuss initiatives aimed at a more sustainable future, according to the potential and demands of each region. Among the projects developed by the GSB in Latin America are research on the production of biofuels. It was from these works that Lynd strengthened the dialogue with Fapesp leaders, such as professors José Goldemberg, president of its Superior Council between 2015-2018, and Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, professor emeritus at Unicamp, president of the Superior Council between 1996 and 2002 and Scientific Director between 2005 and 2020.
According to Lynd, research carried out in the United States and Brazil already pointed to the need for cheaper technologies for ethanol production. "The world needs a laboratory focused exclusively on the search for technical approaches different from the current paradigm. This does not mean that it has no value, but technologies are constantly changing. Even if it is efficient, one must always ask if it is possible to do the same in cheaper way".
A2G arises from studies developed in both countries. "The idea of creating a Laboratory similar to Lynd Lab in Brazil was born in 2017. This year, I was carrying out an internship funded by Fapesp at Dartmouth College, under the supervision of Professor Lynd. At the end of the year, there was already a definition of the line of most appropriate funding, which was FAPESP's SPEC, as advised by Professor Brito Cruz", reports Sindélia Azzoni, assistant director of the center, who worked in the coordination between North American and Brazilian researchers. "Lynd invited me to join the project as an associate researcher and as part of the leadership team. For me it was both challenging and motivating to build this initiative at Unicamp, as it is an institution with a strong scientific presence in the area of bioenergy and because I have been a student here. It was not an easy task, we worked hard on the project submitted in December 2018", she comments.
New paradigm for biofuels
A2G's research focuses on second-generation biofuels, obtained from vegetable cellulose, with an emphasis on ethanol. The advantage lies in the greater availability of biomass. While first generation ethanol depends on sources of sugar or starch, such as sugar cane and corn, in second generation ethanol the fuel is obtained from the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass, which contains cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. This allows the use of various types of vegetables and agricultural residues.
The limitation is in production costs. The breakdown of lignocellulose requires thermochemical pre-treatment, followed by an enzymatic hydrolysis step in which enzymes are added in order to release the sugars to be fermented by yeast. The proposal is to simplify this process. "We are looking for a process in which it is not necessary to add enzymes or do thermochemical pre-treatment. And if you remove steps from the process, it becomes cheaper. It is a different and risky approach, which gives us chances of getting it right, but also of make a mistake along the way", reflects Lynd.
Researchers develop technologies that enable a new paradigm for ethanol production, in which biomass processing occurs in a single step. Known as CBP (Consolidated Bioprocessing, or "Consolidated Bioprocessing"), the addition of enzymes and yeast is replaced by the use of bacteria C. thermocellum. Anaerobic and thermophilic, it is more efficient in breaking down lignocellulose and is capable of producing enzymes that act in the process. The technology also involves a grinding process during the action of bacteria C. thermocellum, called co-treatment. As a result, there is an increase in the surface area, benefiting the action of microorganisms on the lignocellulosic biomass.
The industrial and economic viability of this technology depends on the success of research dedicated to expanding the natural capacity of these cellulolytic bacteria, the main focus of the project's biotechnology team. According to Lynd, this is more beneficial than trying to endow a microorganism with a property it does not possess: "We have to improve the microorganisms provided by nature, such as Clostridium thermocellum and, for this, we need genetic engineering techniques. When I started my work in the area, these techniques didn't exist", he points out.
Another advantage of the technology developed by the Laboratory is that, in the production of second generation ethanol, the entire chain contributes to capturing carbon from the atmosphere and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. "Whether producing electricity or biofuels, biomass allows us to capture a large amount of carbon, which is raw material for plant growth, and place it in the soil. As a result, we have negative carbon emissions", explains Lynd. For the researcher, such demands will be increasingly present in all areas of science: "I believe that in the next five years this will gain global prominence. Biomass production is the best way to achieve negative carbon emissions."
