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Integration of synthetic microbial consortia based bioprocessing with pyrolysis for efficient conversion of cellulose to valuables

Improved technologies are needed for sustainable conversion of cellulosic waste to valuable products. Here we demonstrate the successful integration of a synthetic microbial consortium (SynCONS) based consolidated bioprocessing with pyrolysis to produce commodity chemicals from cellulose. Promising microbial partners were rationally identified from 7626 organisms via comparative metabolic mapping which led to establishing two promising SynCONS with abilities to convert cellulose to ethanol and lactate in bioreactors. The partners in the two SynCONS were a) the mesophilic fungus Trichoderma reesei grown sequentially with the thermophilic bacterium Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius NCIMB 11955 (TrPt) and b) a thermophilic bacterium Thermobifida fusca grown together with Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius NCIMB 11955 (TfPt). TrPt sequential bioprocessing resulted in 39% (g/g) cellulose consumption with product yields up to 9.3% g/g (ethanol + lactate). The TfPt co-cultures demonstrated a cellulose consumption of 30% (g/g) and combined yields of ethanol and lactic acid up to 23.7% g/g of consumed cellulose. The total product yields were further enhanced (51% g/g cellulose) when commercially available cellulases were used in place of T. fusca. Furthermore, when the metabolically engineered ethanol-producing strain of P. thermoglucosidasius TM242 (TfPt242) was substituted in the thermophilic TfPt co-culture consortium, ethanol yields were substantially higher (32.7% g/g of consumed cellulose). Finally, subjecting the residual cellulose and microbial biomass to pyrolysis resulted in carbon material with physicochemical properties similar to commercially available activated carbon as analysed using Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Overall, the integration of this synthetic microbial consortia-based bioprocessing strategy with pyrolysis demonstrated a promising strategy for conversion of waste cellulose to chemicals, biofuels, and industrial carbon potentially suitable for several industrial applications.