This SBIR Phase I project will develop the feasibility of continuously producing biodiesel fuel from renewable lipids that are harvested from oleaginous yeasts. Specifically, the plan is to maximize lipid production from selected yeast strains. This project investigates an innovative process that produces transportation grade biodiesel fuel from a novel microbial bioenergy source. It will demonstrate the feasibility of continuously producing biodiesel from renewable lipids harvested from oleaginous yeasts. The yeast strains will be carefully selected through a well designed screening process and culturing conditions will be extensively tested to maximize lipid production. Continuous biodiesel production is possible by utilizing the nonconventional Mcgyan process.
The broader/commercial impact of the project will be to improve the science of producing biodiesel from non-food based, cellulosic fermentable sugars which are derived from corn stover, various types of straw, hay, wood chips, saw dust, switch grass, etc.
This National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project focused on completing the research and development activities necessary to begin commercial production of cellulosic biodiesel from oleaginous yeast. Through the effort from the Phase I research project, SarTec Corporation has successfully screened for an ideal oil producing strain of oleaginous yeast by determining the optimal culture conditions that yield the highest lipid accumulation level. Furthermore, a large scale fermentation of this selected yeast strain was carried out for lipid production. Yeast oil extracted from the large-batch fermentation was successfully converted into biodiesel through the Mcgyan® process. Resulting yeast oil biodiesel was tested to pass key ASTM D6751 specifications. In addition, SarTec Corporation took the initiative to demonstrate the feasibility of growing the selected oleaginous yeast strain using a novel "cellulose hydrolysate" that was produced using a patent-pending catalytic continuous hydrolysis process. The broader commercial and societal impacts of this research involve the creation of a novel way to produce non-food source cellulosic biodiesel. This non-food based biodiesel fuel production method can be implemented directly by a growing U.S. bio-fuels industry (that is currently struggling due to its dependence upon corn-based ethanol) to help solve the current dilemma of using food and feed grains for biofuel production. In addition, this new technology will provide for a sustainable and renewable source of feedstock oil to help the U.S. biofuels industry meet the EPA mandate of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022. Also, by revolutionizing the feedstock oil in production, SarTec believe it can help expand the role of biodiesel as a renewable, environmentally friendly advanced biofuel energy source for the United States in order to reduce its dependence upon foreign petroleum-based fuels. Disclaimer This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
