DOE researchers produce isoprenal as potential SAF blendstock

In California, sustainable aviation fuels made from renewable sources of carbon could reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help to mitigate climate change. Isoprenol is a chemical involved in the production of a jet biofuel blendstock called 1,4-dimethylcyclooctane (DMCO). Blendstocks are chemicals that are combined with other chemicals to create fuel. Department of Energy researchers have produced isoprenol in several microbial hosts.

However, efforts to make sustainable aviation fuel would benefit if isoprenol could be made in microorganisms that use fermentable sugars from plant material as a source of carbon. The bacteria Pseudomonas putida (P. putida) could be such a microorganism, but it needs engineering to be an optimal choice. In this research, scientists used advanced computing tools to engineer P. putida for isoprenol production.

The paper is published in the journal Metabolic Engineering. Researchers used computational modeling to predict targets for gene editing and to optimize metabolism in P. putida to maximize the production of isoprenol. This approach allowed the researchers to select and prioritize gene editing targets and therefore to test a smaller number of engineered strains.

They achieved the highest reported isoprenol production for P. putida. This is an important step toward a sustainable bioproduction process for jet fuel.