Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and Applications
Open Access
ISSN: 2090-4541
ISSN: 2090-4541
Sujit Kumar Mohanty and Mani V Subramanian
The University of Iowa, USA
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Fundam Renewable Energy Appl
Problem Statement: In recent years, biofuel has emerged as a sustainable solution to the ever-growing demand of clean energy in the 21st century. Utilization of food crops as feedstock for bioethanol production, although a quick solution, is not the best, particularly with fast-growing global population, high global hunger index and a steep competition from feed industry for meat and dairy production. Consequently, utilization of sugar/carbon-rich domestic/agricultural wastes and forest products are gaining popularity as alternate feedstock, which also address issues related to waste management and pollution. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: In 2009, Mahula flower (an untapped sugar-rich forest product) was successfully demonstrated as a better alternative feedstock for bioethanol production. Given, coffee is the second-most traded commodity in the whole world; coffee waste has gained popularity as an untapped carbon-rich feedstock. The idea is to utilize caffeine, a key carbon-rich component of coffee waste generated from domestic, commercial, or agricultural sources for bioethanol, enzyme, pharmaceutical production and other applications such as soil-bioremediation. Findings: We have isolated and studied several strains of soil-bacteria that degrade caffeine either via N-demethylationor C-8 oxidation pathway. Genetic maps of both these pathways have been fully characterized. These genes are the only characterized bacterial caffeine-degrading genes and offer great value from a biofuel production perspective via metabolic engineering. At this time, we have been able to show reconstitution of demethylation caffeine-degrading pathway in E. coli to produce high value products such as theobromine, 3-methylxanthine, 7-methylxanthine and xanthine. Interestingly, a caffeine-addicted E. coli was also developed using these genes. Conclusion & Significance: In future, via rigorous metabolic re-wiring in organisms such as E. coli and yeast, we expect to generate biofuel, high value chemicals, remediation of coffee-waste for potting soil, and enzyme-based diagnostic test for caffeine detection for medical and food applications.
Email: dr_ravindra@hotmail.com