Page 180 - CW E-Magazine (27-8-2024)

Special Report Special Report

The most sustainable feedstocks for precision of sustainable feedstock available for The food industry covers a broad cess for turning hardwood residues into
precision fermentation producers was sweep of waste materials, from the C5 and C6 sugars.
fermentation one thing holding back the industry glutinous byproducts of baked goods to The former are used in producing
mixed organic matter from restaurants.
from scaling.
biofuels while the latter are useful for
World Bio Market Insights organisms capable of churning out highly sustainable compared to fossil- Using sugar cane or corn sugars to Other types of food industry waste personal care chemicals, cosmetics, and
pretty much any biochemical. based analogues, with lower footprints feed industrial microbes is not just an that have yet to be valorised as microbial pharmaceuticals. Fibenol turns these
ver the last several years, preci- in carbon dioxide as well as land use. environmentally harmful practice. It feedstock sources are seafood shells basic sugars into nutrient-rich material
sion fermentation has attracted With targeted gene editing, bacterial is also fi nancially costly. Feedstock is and slaughterhouse wastes. These pro- that microbes can easily use and further
Oattention as a manufacturing strains can become extremely versatile However, this is not always guaran- often among the biggest operating costs tein-rich byproducts differ from the process into biofuels, cosmetics, and
methods that could drastically lower and adjustable living ‘machines’ that teed. One variable that determines the involved in the precision fermentation sugary wastes that Hyfe works with and pharmaceuticals.
the environmental impacts of every- can churn out different biobased pro- sustainability of any particular preci- business. Using virgin food crops leaves can be used to manufacture nitrogen-
day products, from edible proteins to ducts with very specifi c physical traits sion fermentation process comes back fermentation producers vulnerable to the containing compounds like amino acids Fibenol began life as a unit within
animal feed and cosmetics ingredients. at high volumes. to the kind of feedstock used to feed the volatility of the agricultural markets – and amines, which have applications in Estonian wood pellet producer Graanul
microbes. something that they are increasingly pharmaceuticals and as food and drink Invest, which wanted to turn its hand to
Precision fermentation is a bio- Now, it is possible to create a sensitive to, as extreme weather from preservatives. higher value products from the biomass
manufacturing technique that uses vast range of materials using vats of Feedstock here refers to whatever climate change is already making staple it worked with. In 2018, it received EU
living microbes and their metabolism microbes: compostable plastics, textiles sugar-based food is given to the bac- harvests more unpredictable. Forestry waste funding for a demo plant and in 2023,
to create biobased chemicals and made from modifi ed proteins, and teria and constitutes the raw materials Hyfe works with a category of its fl agship plant became fully functional
materials. plant-based proteins with chemical that the microbes will transform into a A small number of companies have microbial feedstock known as ‘free with an annual capacity of 20,000
compositions similar to animal meat. target chemical. adopted more sustainable feedstocks sugars’. These are readily fermentable tonnes for cellulosic wood sugars.
However, scaling the method while A whole raft of startups now even offer for precision fermentation. These fall sugars, like glucose, meaning they do
keeping its environmental impacts low slaughter-free replicas of meat and sea- Right now, many parts of the into three main groups: food industry not require additional treatment steps In 2023, Fibenol announced a pilot-
is a challenge. One factor deciding the food, asking their modifi ed microbes to fermented manufacturing industry still waste, forestry waste, and carbon gas. to turn into a form that will effi ciently scale collaboration with biotech startup
sustainability of precision fermented replicate a tiny cell sample taken from use sugar cane or corn sugars as the feed industrial microbes. ÄIO, a startup that develops fermented
goods is the type of material used to living animals. microbe feed in their fermentation pro- The most sustainable feedstocks for alternatives to palm oil, coconut oil,
feed the industrial microbes that pro- cess. However, the practice of using industrial fermentation Forestry waste is another potentially and animal fats for use in the food and
duce them. Once the microbes manage to culti- harvested food crops for industrial pur- cheap and abundant source of microbe cosmetics industries. Under the part-
vate the target chemical to a certain poses is an incredibly wasteful practice Food industry waste sugars. Like the food industry waste nership, ÄIOl is to process Fibenol’s
What is precision fermentation? critical mass inside their cells, the pro- that puts pressure on land. It uses up Startup Hyfe extracts sugar from streams of Hyfe’s model, they could wood-derived sugars under industry-
We’re all familiar with the products ducer harvests it and discards the host precious, carbon-intensive farming wastewater produced by food manufac- also offer an alternative to human food like conditions to make sustainable fats
of traditional fermentation-based bio- cells they grew inside. inputs for industry rather than for turing facilities, turning it into a stan- crops as feed for industrial microbes. and oils for food and cosmetics. If ÄIO
manufacturing, such as beer making human consumption. dardised microbe ‘feed’ for precision and biomanufacturing companies like
or cheese making. These age-old tech- Fermented factories can be green – fermenters to use as an input. Lignocellulose is the organic it are to scale fermented production, it
niques use certain communities or spe- but there’s a catch Synthesis Capital, a major investor compound that makes barks rigid and will rely on companies like Fibenol that
cies of bacteria to break down a simple Precision fermented products can be in the area, said that the limited amount Hyfe’s method of manufacturing contains complex sugars and other bio- offer a reliable fl ow of microbial feed-
feedstock (grains, milk). Their unique this microbe feed doubles as a water molecules. However, this waste stream stock.
metabolism transforms these basic treatment system for food processing has so far not been easy to commer-
compounds inside their bodies into plants. Hyfe sets up their wastewater cialise as fermentation feedstock. Carbon dioxide
foods with a particular look or taste. processing units on-site next to brewe- Yes, carbon gas can really be a
ries or canning factories, where they Usually, routes to processing ligno- feedstock in microbial manufacturing.
Similarly, modern precision fermen- remove all the valuable organic matter cellulose for industrial applications There are certain bacteria, found either
tation uses the metabolic abilities of from the water and return the purifi ed start with a pretreatment step called in nature or achieved via genetic modi-
microorganisms to create high-value water to the manufacturer to re-use. hydrolysis to make fermentable sugars. fi cation, that absorb the gas from the
products. In modern biomanufacturing, This adds cost and time to valorising atmosphere around them, converting
however, producers can genetically Co-founder Ruiz says that it costs wood waste. Also, the kind of sugars them into anything from biomaterials
modify their bacteria in very targeted less for food producers to use Hyfe’s that come from wood can be challeng- to proteins.
ways. Among the fi rst products of preci- water treatment method than other ing to use effi ciently.
sion fermentation to have been commer- waste management operators, giving The thought of turning air into solid,
cialised were biofuels. Now, with gene “guaranteed” opex savings to their Estonian company Fibenol has bio-based substances can seem counter-
editing, producers can create micro- clients. managed to develop an economic pro- intuitive. This is until you realise that

180 Chemical Weekly August 27, 2024 Chemical Weekly August 27, 2024 181

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