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Abstract submittal will be available on-line, here at Clostridium11.net. The deadline for submittal is August 13, 2010. The system will be active soon. More soon >
The genus Clostridium contains a diverse set of organisms both pathogenic and nonpathogenic. . The physiologic diversity of this Genus is quite remarkable and provides a broad view into sporulation, energetics, regeneration of reducing power and pathway switching from acid production to solvent production.
The clostridia belong to the avant-garde of biotechnologically important microbes. The recent development of a battery of tools for genetic manipulation paved the way for exploiting the enormous metabolic potential of this bacterial group, embracing biofuel production, lignocellulose conversion, and exciting new enzyme activities. The respective transnational interest is reflected by the biannually held Clostridium conferences since 1990. The upcoming Clostridium 11 meeting will be next in this series. It will provide new findings to researchers from academia and industry and hopefully also attract young graduate students, just entering this fascinating field. In the past, world's leading groups working with acid- and solvent-forming clostridia were represented at these meetings and it is anticipated that this will be the case in San Diego as well. There is no better chance of meeting all Clostridium experts. So, do not miss this opportunity and join us in San Diego!
The Clostridia have been studied for the last Century do to their diverse physiology, and the ability to produce as end-products, commodity chemicals. With the advent of in silico physiologic modeling the species diversity of the Clostridia allows them to be ideal donors of genes from which we can “build” ideal chemical production pathways in non-clostridial hosts.
Acetone, Ethanol and Butanol. Butanol is used as both an industrial solvent and a drop-in fuel candidate. Butanol can be a fuel additive but may also replace gasoline as a fuel due to more favorable physical properties, economics and safety compared to ethanol. Butanol is currently used primarily as an industrial solvent. Approximately 10 billion lbs of butanol were produced by petrochemical processes in 1989. The current worldwide market for butanol is about 350 million gallons per year with the U.S. market accounting for about 220 million gallons per year.
The production process involved in producing butanol from simple sugars derived from biomass can be divided into several technological areas. The first area is feedstock. The biomass components used to extract the simple sugars, either hexoses or pentoses are important to the process; we prefer non-food substrate or feedstock in order to maintain a predictable cost per bushel. Then the feedstock needs to be ground or milled into a usable size either in the presence or absence of enzymes. This milled substance is then place in a fermentation vat as substrate and the appropriate microorganism starter is added. This can be one or more engineered organisms for specialized chemical output. The fermentation is then monitored either in a continuous or batch fashion. When the fermentation is done the liquid and solids are separated and the fuel must be extracted from the liquid. The fuel must be dried of all water and then transported for use.
It has long been the goal of the industry to improve the fermentation process. Strides to improve butanol toxicity, yield through cell recycling and cell immobilization to increase cell density and reactor productivity and using extractive fermentation to minimize product inhibition.
