Industrial Biotechnology for

production of chemicals and

materials

Prof. Merja PenttiläVTT Technical Research Center of Finland

merja.penttila@vtt.fi

2nd Finnish-Brazilian Workshop on Biomass Conversion: Actions in

Science, Innovation and Education to Create a Sustainable World;

Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), 30th of October 2013

Brussels,

Belgium

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Saint Petersburg, Russia

Seoul,

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Tampere

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Helsinki••Turku Rajamäki

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• Kajaani

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Finland

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Outokumpu•

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VTT Group

Established 1942

Personnel ~ 3 000

The biggest multi

technological research

institute in Northern Europe

Not-for-profit institute

301/11/2013

Tekes, the Finnish

Funding Agency for

Technology and

Innovation

Public decision makers, financiers and

R&D performers

Parliament of Finland

Council of State

Ministry of

Education and

Culture

Academy of

Finland

Ministry of

Employment and

the Economy

Other ministries and

research institutes

Research and

Innovation

Council

VTT

Sitra, the Finnish

Innovation Fund

Finnvera

Finpro

Finnish Industry

Investment Ltd

ELY centres (Centre for Economic Development,

Transport and the Environment)

Universities

401/11/2013

Basic research

Applied research

Development

VTT

VTT’s status as performer of R&D work

VTT is a networker – at national and EU level

501/11/2013

Resource scarcity

Oil dependency

New businesses

Technologies for industries based on natural resources,

targeting at resource wisdom

Forest FoodChemistry

& Bio

Cleantech

Natural resources: forest, other biomass sources, minerals

Energy

Energy and water

efficiency

Drivers

Resource wisdom

Environmental

friendliness

601/11/2013

VTT R&D organisation 2014 VTT Business Areas(Total > 3000 persons)

• Knowledge intensive

products and services

• Smart industry and

energy systems

• Solutions for natural

resources and

environment

Solutions for natural

resources and environ-

ment (Total ~ 650 persons)

Expert Areas

• Industrial biotechnology

• Biofuels and bioenergy

• Process chemistry and

environmental

engineering

• Biomass and food

processing

• Fibres and biomaterials

Industrial biotechnology(Total ~ 120 persons)

Teams

• Metabolic engineering

• Synthetic biology

• Protein production

• Bioproduction

technologies

• Plant biotechnology

and metabolomics

• Performance proteins

701/11/2013

VTT Bioeconomy program

Synthetic biology» Merja Penttilä «

Controlled biomass

deconstruction

technologies» Kristiina Kruus«

Web-based

fibre products» Anna Suurnäkki «

Biobased

Packaging» Esa Torniainen«

Plant based

food» Nesli Sozer «

Performance chemicals» Ali Harlin «

Process & energy concepts» Antti Arjasto «»

Integrated value networks» Magnus Simons « I

Biosociety» Johanna Kohl «

Production

technologies &

systems»Magnus Simons «

801/11/2013

OH

HO

OH

Microbial

cell

factory

901/11/2013

Pretreatment, Fractionation

BIOMASS

Good fibres, valuable extractives, easy sugars?

Products

Energy

Glues

Binders

Products

Specialty

chemicals,

Fatty acids

Products

Nanocellulose,

Composites,

Packages, Coatings,

Paper, Textiles

Products

Biofuels

Biopolymer precursors

Bulk chemicals

Specialty chemicals, etc

Extractives,

Precursor fractions

Suberin, terpenes,

phenolics, lignans

Carbohydrate polymers

Fibers, cellulose,

hemicellulose

starch, flax etc

Sugars

Glucose, Sucrose,

Mannose, Xylose,

Arabinose, Sugar acidsLignin

Protein

Sugarplatform

FOOD

1001/11/2013

Microbial

cell

factory

1101/11/2013

Cell

factory

1201/11/2013

OH

HO

OH

Cell

factory

1301/11/2013

Conversion,

e.g. polymer & synthetic chemistry

Hydrolysis

Enzyme discovery Mixture tailoring Hydrolysis

technology

Pretreatment,Fractionation

Steam explosion Organosolv Catalytic oxidation Enzyme aided

technologies

Biomass Wood and forest residues

Agro side streams Energy crops

Bagasse Waste materials

Products

Bioethanol

Other biofuels Biopolymer

precursors Bulk chemicals

Process integrationProcess concepts

SHF SSF CBP

Products

Bioplastics

Specialty

chemicals

Process integrationProcess concepts

SHF SSF CBPModelling

Biorefinery - Sugar platform technologies at VTT

Sugars Glucose Sucrose Mannose

Xylose Arabinose

Galacturonic acid

Fermentation

Microbes Process

technology

Spruce Wheat straw

Pretreated

1401/11/2013

Enzymes

Enzyme production(fermentation)

Conversion,

e.g. polymer & synthetic chemistry

Hydrolysis

Enzyme discovery Mixture tailoring Hydrolysis

technology

Pretreatment,Fractionation

Steam explosion Organosolv Catalytic oxidation Enzyme aided

technologies

Biomass Wood and forest residues

Agro side streams Energy crops

Bagasse Waste materials

Products

Bioethanol

Other biofuels Biopolymer

precursors Bulk chemicals

Process integrationProcess concepts

SHF SSF CBP

Host strainengineering

Enzymeengineering

Products

Bioplastics

Specialty

chemicals

Process integrationProcess concepts

SHF SSF CBPModelling

Biorefinery - Sugar platform technologies at VTT

Sugars Glucose Sucrose Mannose

Xylose Arabinose

Galacturonic acid

Fermentation

Microbes Process

technology

Spruce Wheat straw

Pretreated

1501/11/2013

Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials

Enzyme properties

Specific activity

Thermal activity and stability

End product inhibition

Non-specific binding

Enzymes mixtures

Composition of cellulase mixture

Role of additional enzymes (hemicellulases, ligninases)

Efficient production hosts and technologies

Trichoderma reesei

Hydrolysis technologies

Separate/simultaneous/stepwise/consolidated

Operational temperature

High dry matter processing

Optimal use of enzymes - recycling

Picture by G.Beckham, NREL

More efficient and economical enzyme concepts

Sugar canebagasse

Sprucechips

1601/11/2013

Enzymes

Enzyme production(fermentation)

Conversion,

e.g. polymer & synthetic chemistry

Hydrolysis

Enzyme discovery Mixture tailoring Hydrolysis

technology

Pretreatment,Fractionation

Steam explosion Organosolv Catalytic oxidation Enzyme aided

technologies

Biomass Wood and forest residues

Agro side streams Energy crops

Bagasse Waste materials

Products

Bioethanol

Other biofuels Biopolymer

precursors Bulk chemicals

Process integrationProcess concepts

SHF SSF CBP

Host strainengineering

Enzymeengineering

Production hostengineering

Metabolic engineering

Pentose fermentation Systems biology

Products

Bioplastics

Specialty

chemicals

Process integrationProcess concepts

SHF SSF CBPModelling

Biorefinery - Sugar platform technologies at VTT

Sugars Glucose Sucrose Mannose

Xylose Arabinose

Galacturonic acid

Fermentation

Microbes Process

technology

Spruce Wheat straw

Pretreated

1701/11/2013

Microbe

Ligno-cellulosics

AgrowasteForest residues

Municipal waste

glucose

xylose arabinose

Polymerprecursors

Lactic acid -> PLA Glycolic acid -> PGA Other organic acids

Terpenes

Metabolic engineering

galacturonicacid

Biofuels

Bioethanol

Biobutanol

Biodiesel

Alkanes

Specialty chemicals

Xylitol

Fruit waste Pectin

Energy crops

Bagasse

Metabolic engineering at VTT

Collaboration with

companies world-wide

1801/11/2013

Industrial biotechnology

evolutionSynthetic biologyGene technology

Systems biology

1st generation

Cell factories

2nd generation

Cell factories3rd generation

Cell factories

• Use of natural organisms,

no genetic engineering

• Strain improvement by random

mutagenesis with chemicals and

radiation

• Transfer of combination of genes

found in nature to the production

organism

• Strain improvement by targeted

gene expression and inactivation

• Design of new-to-nature genes,

gene combinations and synthetic

metabolic reaction pathways,

and ultimately entire cells

• Strain improvement by rapid

automated gene assembly and

transformation, combined with

very high-through-put screening

Organism specific products e.g.• alcohol and flavour compounds with wine

yeasts

• mixture of acetone, butanol and ethanol

(ABE) with bacteria

New traits/products in old hosts e.g.• human insulin with yeast

• high levels of industrial enzymes with fungi

• 2nd generation bioethanol

(C5 fermenting Saccharomyces yeast)

Novel products in tailor-made hosts e.g.

• biotech production of current petrochemicals

• novel jet fuels produced with yeast

• engineered spider silk for superior materials

Raw materials and sugars

naturally used by the microbe

(e.g. starch, glucose, lactose)

Tailor-made carbon and energy use

(e.g. waste CO2, methanol, glycerol)Broadened substrate range

(e.g. (hemi)cellulose, xylose)

1901/11/2013

Bio‐based production of C2–C6 platform chemicals

Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 109: 10, 2437-2459 (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bit.24599/full#fig19

Cell biochemistry can generate platform chemicals

2001/11/2013

CO2

Chemicals

Heat/power

Fibers

Nanocellulose

Construction

materials

Bioeconomy Biomass

based

factories

Current

major

biorefinery

developments

In Finland

Fuels

Combustion

Pulping,

Gasification,

Pyrolysis,

Pretreatment,

Fractionation

2101/11/2013

CO2

Chemicals

Contained production

Heat/power

Fibers

Nanocellulose

Cell Factories

Construction

materials

Bioeconomy Biomass

based

factories

Waste biomass and carbohydrates

SUGAR

Combustion

Pulping,

Gasification,

Pyrolysis,

Pretreatment,

Fractionation

Hydrolysis

Fuels

Food waste

Food

Current

major

biorefinery

developments

In Finland

Chemicals

Aromates

Fuels

Polymers

Nanobio products

Etc, etc

2201/11/2013

CO2

Chemicals

Contained production

Heat/power

Fibers

Nanocellulose

Cell Factories

Construction

materials

Bioeconomy Biomass

based

factories

Waste biomass and carbohydrates

SUGAR

Combustion

Pulping,

Gasification,

Pyrolysis,

Pretreatment,

Fractionation

Hydrolysis

Fuels

Food waste

Food

Current

major

biorefinery

developments

In Finland

Chemicals

Aromates

Fuels

Polymers

Nanobio products

Etc, etc

Bioproduction

in the future:

Direct conversion

of primary resources

to the product

of interest

2301/11/2013

CO2

Chemicals

Contained production

Heat/power

Fibers

Nanocellulose

Construction

materials

Chemicals

Aromates

Fuels

Polymers

Nanobio products

Etc, etc

Industrial flue gas

Atmospheric

Shale gas

Alternative light capture

mechanisms

Photosynthesis

Bioeconomy Biomass

based

factories

Biogas methane

Gasification

Waste biomass and carbohydrates

Methanol

Current

biorefinery

developments

Bioproduction

in the future:

Direct conversion

of primary resources

to the product

of interest

Fuels

CO2

CO2

Food waste

Food

Combustion

Pulping,

Gasification,

Pyrolysis,

Pretreatment,

Fractionation

Hydrolysis

SUGAR

Synthetic

Cell Factories

2401/11/2013

BIOTECHNOLOGY is a cornerstone technology in BIOECONOMY

• Biotechnology is broadly considered as a key enabling technology for

the future (EU, USA etc)

• Syntetic biology is a rapidly evolving cutting edge technology

• Biotech production of current petrochemicals becomes more feasible

• Novel bioinspired products will become available

• Small scale production is possible

• Biotech enables product and business diversification

• Combination of technologies needed

2501/11/2013

Brasilian post-docs and PhD students are welcome at VTTCNPq – VTT agreement on ”Science without Borders” Programme for 20 persons annually

EXAMPLES of BIOECONOMY TOPICS

Renewable energy

Biotechnical production of biofuels

Photovoltaics

Thermochemical conversion of biomass to biofuels

Biotechnology

a. Enzymes for waste water treatment

b. Industrial biotechnology

Cell factory

Enzyme discovery and engineering

Synthetic biology

White biotechnology – Green Chemistry

Biorefinery concepts

Nanotechnology and new materials

Materials from biomass (eucalyptus, bagasse, soya bean)

2601/11/2013

VTT - 70 years of

technology for business

and society