Succinic acid is a multipurpose platform chemical for improving flavors and producing pharmaceutical products, dyes, and bio-polyesters. By more efficiently incorporating carbon dioxide (CO2），由分子生物技术教授Elke Nevoigt领导的团队已经开发了一个生态和经济上有吸引力的琥珀酸生产过程Jacobs University Bremen。再过三年，德国研究基金会（DFG）在财务上支持该项目。
By integrating CO2more effectively, Professor Elke Nevoigt and her team developed a process that makes production of succinic acid more economical. Image credits: Jacobs University
In the chemical industry, several products are based on fossil raw materials including gas, oil, or coal. Currently, scientists are discovering substitutes built from plant waste streams and renewable carbon sources. This is also applicable to succinic acid production, which has been achieved from petroleum, as well as by fermentation from sugar and starch.
Nevoigt采用甘油作为碳源的替代品。十多年来，她一直在研究这种生物柴油生产的副产品。
It’s exciting because glycerol has a high electron density. Compared with sugars, you therefore get a higher yield of succinic acid per carbon used。
雅各布斯大学科学家Elke Nevoigt
与荷兰的Tu Delft联合的研究团队，将温室气碳二氧化碳用于琥珀酸的微生物生产过程。
甘油由三个碳原子组成，二氧化碳1。总的来说，我们最终得到了要生产的琥珀酸中的四个碳原子。
雅各布斯大学科学家Elke Nevoigt
The environmental impact and energy efficiency are the benefits of this process. Using glycerol as the raw material means not only more succinic acid created in comparison to sugars, but also more CO2同时修复。
Nevoigt在扩展的研究方法中采用了贝克酵母对琥珀酸生产过程的好处。例如，与细菌相比，酵母对低pH值具有更大的抵抗力，从而使生产过程更稳定，最重要的是更经济。研究小组目前正在进行研究以更优化过程。酵母细胞必须从甘油中产生额外的琥珀酸。
“Improving the cell’s energy balance would allow more carbon to be incorporated into the target product, succinic acid，” Nevoigt得出结论。
Source:https://www.jacobs-university.de/