|
 However, converting the technology at a commercial scale can be
a risky venture, and companies need help testing their products,
says Vijay Singh, professor of agricultural and biological
engineering and director of the Integrated Bioprocessing
Research Laboratory (IBRL) at the University of Illinois.
“There is a huge need for facilities like IBRL to help grow the
biotech industry,” Singh says. “We work with industry partners
to de-risk the technology. They can come here and test their
innovations at a small scale, then they can evaluate and make
changes before moving on to full commercial scale.”
IBRL opened in September 2018, and in its first year it has
already hosted more than 50 projects for 20 different companies.
Projects include creating alternative proteins, polymers for
cosmetics, animal feed, and much more.
Singh discusses biotech trends and industry implications in a
recent article published in Cereal Foods World.
“Sustainability is a big trend in consumer products. This has
created a market pull and companies are trying to address that
by using more renewable materials in their products,” he says.
“For example, there’s a car that’s made up of polylactic acid.
That means the whole car is made from a plastic that can degrade
completely. And shoe companies are making shoes that are 100%
biodegradable.”
Another major trend in bioprocessing is plant-based products
that replace meat, such as meatless burgers. Feeding a growing
world population with meat products is not sustainable, Singh
says. The solution may be alternative meat products produced
with synthetic biology. “These products taste like meat, smell
like meat, cook like meat. And they take a lot less resources to
produce than meat,” he explains.
At the same time, consumers are moving away from traditional
corn processing products such as high fructose corn syrup. This
opens up opportunities for new uses of fermented sugars. Many
different products can be made from corn-derived sugars, ranging
from biodegradable plastics to cosmetics, cleaners, adhesives,
and food products.
Along with higher emphasis on sustainability, advances in
industrial biotechnology has made production of specialized
fermentation organisms much faster and more affordable.
“We can now put pathways inside the microorganisms that ‘eat’
the sugars and convert the carbon into all kinds of value-added
products,” Singh says.
[to top of second column] |
Because of the demand for high-value sugar products,
some ethanol plants are looking to change their production
capacities. There are about 200 dry-grind facilities in the US that
produce about 16 billion gallons of ethanol per year.
“Demand for ethanol is driven by federal mandate so
it is dependent on policy,” Singh says.
But the demand for high-quality sugars continues to grow, so
dry-grind corn plants are starting to retrofit their facilities to
accommodate that market.
However, there are considerable challenges in converting these new
opportunities into a commercially viable operation. The ability to
test product development in a smaller-scale facility can greatly
improve the viability of biotech production, Singh says.
“You need a facility where you can generate products at a smaller
scale and test them with consumers. If there are things you need to
fix, you can fix it at this scale before moving on to demonstration
or full commercial scale,” he says.
“Partnering with university-based facilities that are specifically
intended to accelerate commercialization is a very good option,” he
suggests. “They have the equipment, trained personnel, and
analytical capabilities to serve as pilot plants for companies.”
“IBRL offers one such facility,” Singh concludes.
The article, “Industrial Biotechnology: Shaping Corn Biorefineries
of the Future,” is published in Cereal Foods World. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/CFW-64-4-0062].
Authors include Vijay Singh, Joel Stone, Jeffrey P. Robert, and
Sundeep N. Vani.
The Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and the
Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory are in the College of
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and The
Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois.
[Source: Vijay Singh
Writer: Marianne Stein]
 |
