It is expected that the Clean Air Act of 1990 will significantly restrict, and perhaps prohibit, the use of many industrial solvents. The emphasis thus shifts to the production of environmentally benign or "green solvents", which may be synthesized from current petrochemical sources or derived from renewable resources. Solvents may be produced biologically from the components of synthesis and waste gases. Preliminary studies in the laboratories of Bioengineering Resources, Inc. have resulted in the identification of bacteria which produce butanediol and n-butanol from CO and H2. The purpose of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project to be carried out by Bioengineering Resources, Inc. is to obtain CO-utilizing bacteria from natural sources capable of producing solvents form CO, CO2, and H2. The project will focus on bacterial cultures that produce individual ketones or diols, but also will include alcohols, such as isopropanol or isobutanol, if superior cultures for alcohol production are found. Isolates from natural inocula will then be developed for the ability to produce ketones and diols. The best organisms will be studied in continuous culture to define reaction kinetics. The design and economics of a commercial facility will be projected to determine technical and economic feasibility. The next phase of the project will seek to optimize the biological process by performing advanced culture screening, reactor, and process analysis studies. The proposed technology has commercial potential because it would simultaneously constitute a response to environmental pressures and meet the solvent demand. That is, if this technology for the production of "green solvents" from waste gases or from municipal solid waste (MSW) by gasification and fermentation is successful, it could help to alleviate the problem of MSW disposal while at the same time producing industrial solvents such as butanediol and n-butanol.
