Special Feature: Microorganisms Make Chemicals
Creating a Sustainable Society with Next-generation Fermentation Technologies
One of the pillars of Mitsui Chemicals' Grand Design is the development of technologies that will allow us to utilize non-fossil resources. What we want to do is to switch from using finite fossil resources as raw materials to using renewable raw materials. The keys to achieving this rest with the development of biocatalysis and next-generation fermentation technologies involving microorganisms.
Technologies to Use Living Microorganisms as Catalysts
Cheese, yogurt, beer, wine…Many of the foods and drinks that enrich our diets are made through the action of microorganisms called fermentation. Using genetic modification techniques involving microorganisms and fermentation, it is now possible not only to efficiently produce food and drinks but also to produce a wide range of chemical products.
“Catalysts are essential for the chemical industry,” explains Mitsufumi Wada of the Catalysis Science Laboratory's Biocatalysis Unit. “They are a tool for efficiently making the kinds of things that you might want. Biocatalysis is the concept of using microorganisms' fermentation ability as a catalyst. The biocatalysis that we are working on has the properties of selectively producing just the chemicals you are after, as well as producing chemicals that could not be made using conventional catalysts.”
Mitsui Chemicals has been working on biotechnology using genetic modification and other techniques since 1976, and thus far has successfully produced eight commercial products. Through this experience we have built our biocatalysis technologies.
There are two methods regarding biocatalysis. The enzyme method, which until now was the norm, uses enzymes (proteins) made by Escherichia coli and other microorganisms as catalysts. Mitsui Chemicals commercialized a technology for producing acrylamide via the enzyme method some time ago. In contrast, the fermentation method uses living microorganisms themselves as catalysts. For example, ten enzymes work inside a cell to convert glucose into ethanol. Complex processes like this one are difficult to perform using the enzyme method. With the fermentation method, living microorganisms multiply in a culture solution while feeding on glucose, and produce the desired chemicals.
“Couldn't we use the power of microorganisms to efficiently make things other than ethanol?” asks Wada. “Unfortunately, it is difficult to find such microbes in nature. The concept of next-generation fermentation technology is that if we can't find them in nature, then let's change the microorganisms themselves and use genetic modification technology to create microorganisms that will efficiently make chemicals that couldn't be produced using conventional fermentation methods.”
Mitsufumi Wada
Senior Researcher
Biocatalysis Unit
Catalysis Science Laboratory
Strategy to Develop Technologies for Utilization of Non-fossil Resources
Forming a Bio-Consortium
Next-generation fermentation requires four fundamental technologies. The first is a technology for finding microorganisms with genes for making useful enzymes; the second is a technology for inserting the useful genes extracted from these microorganisms into E. coli, while deleting unnecessary genes; the third is a technology for improving the performance of the useful enzymes;and the final one is a technology for optimizing the fermentation conditions within the fermenter.
“Having these four completes the technology. Our company is particularly strong in the second and third of these,” says Wada.
In 2007, Mitsui Chemicals founded a bio-consortium that promotes joint research and development between universities, research institutes, and corporations both in Japan and internationally. The consortium's aim is to develop biocatalysis and next-generation fermentation technologies through broad collaboration with outside parties. Link: Together with Industry and Academia “The Mitsui Chemicals Bio-Consortium”
“One of the pillars of the Grand Design we created in 2007 was the development of technologies to utilize non-fossil resources,” says Wada. “We currently use petroleum and other fossil resources as the raw materials for some of our chemical products, and some day these will run out. The bio-consortium was founded for the end-to-end development of the technologies needed to make these chemical products without relying on fossil raw materials. Biocatalysis technologies have a vital role here; their purpose is to manufacture useful chemicals from non-fossil, inedible resources.”
The Four Foundations of Biocatalysis Technologies
Raw Materials Derived from Cellulose That Do Not Compete with Food
Sakurako Kimura, also from the Biocatalysis Unit, is researching processes for making glucose from plant-derived cellulose. Glucose is used as a base for making a wide range of chemicals. It is possible to avoid competition with food by using wood material and other inedible raw materials.
“This technology uses the enzyme method,” says Kimura. “The topic of our research is extracting and combining enzymes taken from microorganisms that make cellulose hydrolyzing enzymes (cellulase), and then adjusting the conditions to make glucose efficiently.”
Cellulose is made by fixing CO2 from the air using solar energy. When chemical products are made from glucose produced by breaking down this cellulose, burning the products after use only returns this CO2 to the atmosphere. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere does not increase. “Not only that: while the chemicals are being used, that CO2 is trapped in the chemicals, which helps to reduce the CO2 that is causing global warming,” says Wada.
Sakurako Kimura
Biocatalysis Unit
Catalysis Science Laboratory
Racing for the Lead in Achieving a Sound Sustainable Industry
“We are one of the world's leading companies for next-generation fermentation technologies,” says Wada. “But we still face many challenges before these technologies can be commercialized, such as refining and wastewater-treatment technologies. Another challenge is finding a stable supply of resources. In order to meet these challenges, we need the cooperation of the Process Technology Center and many other divisions. We're currently conducting medium-scale testing using the Bio-Engineering bench (testing equipment) at Mobara in order to scale up. We want to commercialize our technologies as soon as possible.”
Wada then spoke about the fact that E. coli has hidden capabilities: “E. coli is a smart little creature. I feel that we still have a lot to discover in nature. The power of science is in finding it. It's a lot of pressure, because the expectations on us are so high, but we have a really great atmosphere here at work, and I think that this has a positive effect.”
Kimura continues: “These microorganisms are too small to see with the naked eye, but they have powers that we can't even imagine. Every day, I find something to surprise me; and every day I learn something new. The chemical industry now uses finite resources, but we will evolve into a sustainable industry by using biocatalysis technologies. This motivates and inspires me.”
