Researchers have modified the tobacco plant from the gene level to produce an enzyme that can decompose forest organic matter. This move will either promote more efficient, economical and sustainable biofuel production.
The biorefinery industry produces fuel, energy, heat, and a variety of chemical products from biomass such as food residues, litter, and the like. To date, forest-derived biological processes such as litter are still faced with enormous difficulties, not only because the cell walls of woody biomass are extremely difficult to decompose, but also because industrial processes require large amounts of enzymes to participate in the reaction. A Norwegian research project is working on the establishment of a “green factory†based on tobacco plants to obtain industrial enzymes at a low cost. The resulting enzyme can be used for the preparation of biofuels and is expected to produce biochemical products that can replace petroleum products. The source of these biofuels is non-food biomass.
The first step in the production of biofuels from litter residue leaves is the decomposition of biomass into sugars, which requires the participation of enzymes. However, the current cost of preparing enzymes is high, which is the main obstacle to the sustainable development of bio-refining. Under normal circumstances, people obtain enzymes through the fermenter system. This kind of application is more common in the food industry, producing food and alcohol. However, setting up a fermenter system is usually expensive, requiring not only a sterile environment but also a large amount of energy and water to control the pressure and temperature in the tank. The project will reduce carbon emissions from bio-refining through the use of genetically modified tobacco plants. The ultimate goal of the project is to replace the energy-consuming fermentation tank system.
Clark Liu, head of the Norwegian Institute of Agriculture and Environment, explained: "Plants can use carbon dioxide and energy from the sun, which makes the entire process of producing enzymes economically and environmentally friendly." According to its introduction, tobacco plants are large and numerous, With abundant material content and a short growth cycle, it can be harvested three to four times a year, making it an ideal plant.
In the first phase of the project, researchers will search for suitable candidate enzymes. "Our goal is to use tobacco to obtain low-cost cell wall degrading enzymes while discovering and testing valuable new enzymes." Clark Liu said, "We are committed to piloting and mass-producing our selected enzymes, and then our The partner, Portico, will test the resulting enzyme."
Baleig Company is a Norwegian company that produces environmentally friendly products. The product range covers bio-chemical products, bio-materials, and bio-ethanol that can replace petroleum products. The company has developed a process for converting biomass into chemical products and biofuels. The demonstration workshop has also been in operation for two and a half years.
"Enzymes are the most expensive products in the production process except raw materials," said Goul Briand Lafasrud, Head of Technology at Polygault. He explained that a small number of enzyme manufacturers always maintain a higher price, and Pollyge has been buying enzymes from these manufacturers. “We try to find other solutions to achieve a more efficient production and production process. If the research team can achieve this goal, we will get a new and more economical enzyme preparation method. Only in this way, our products can be better than oil. The products are more competitive.â€
Researchers will find a gene fragment that allows plants to produce multiple enzymes that can be transformed into tobacco plants and expressed by transgenic techniques, thereby producing enzymes that can effectively break down biomass.
Clarke Liu explained that what they added was a gene fragment that produced proteins, and proteins were the substrates. "Genes are only genetic information. Only when genes are expressed can we obtain corresponding functional products. We use tobacco plants to express the genes we need for our products." Because of this, she compared tobacco plants to mobile phones.
She said: “Many years ago, my cell phone was just a phone that was almost half a catty. Nowadays, the cell phone is almost all-round and can be used as a camera, network and tape recorder. However, its core function is still a telephone. This is just like plants, the nature has not changed, just added a few functions. Therefore, when we know more about plants, our understanding of biotechnology becomes more profound."
Clarke Liu said that there is no so-called moral resistance for the application of genetic modification technology to tobacco.
She said: “First of all, we do not eat these modified tobaccos. Second, due to the cold weather in Norway, it is impossible for them to naturally grow outdoors in Norway. The modified plants will exist in greenhouses with the permission of the Norwegian Health Service. Some people We are skeptical about genetically modified organisms. In fact, we just use tobacco plants to produce the enzymes needed for biological extraction. I believe we can benefit a lot from it because we can get enzymes in a more economical way, and we Will use tobacco plants in a more environmentally friendly way."
The five Nordic countries have announced their energy development plans and plan to complete the decarbonization of the energy system by 2050. This means that by 2050 biofuels use at least 50% of the energy used in transport systems. In Norway, many national-level policies have been put into action to promote the use of renewable energy.
Poligge produces 20 million liters of ethanol each year, of which about 5 million liters are used to produce biofuels. However, only very few biofuels are sold in Norway. Lafarselud explained that due to the lack of sustainable and predictable policies, the European biofuel market as a whole is on the sidelines.
"In Norway, the market is out of step with the decision. The second-generation biofuel production has been carried out at the Salpusburger. This requires long-term and stable policy support." Lafayette said. He pointed out that Switzerland is a successful case in establishing a biofuel market. This is due to the fact that Switzerland has already issued corresponding laws and regulations and it is mandatory to use second-generation biofuels together with fossil fuels. (Zhu Yaohua compiled)
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