Microbial biotechnology
Microorganisms can carry out thousands of chemical reactions at the same time. We study these reactions and use genetic modification to reprogramme microorganisms so they can produce bulk chemicals and fuels in a sustainable way.
Mankind has used the ability of microorganisms to produce several goods. First in the form of food, as wine and cheese, later also in the form of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. Due to current environmental crises like global warming, acidification because of ammonia emissions, deforestation, etc, there is a strong need to reduce the consumption of fossil resources and instead produce bulk chemicals and fuels sustainably.
Microbial bioconversion technologies can play a key role in this development. However, bulk chemicals and fuels have low added values, and the current microbial bioconversion technologies cannot yet compete with most existing petrochemical processes. There is one notable exception: the production of bioethanol as fuel by yeasts. Breakthroughs are therefore required to drastically reduce costs of other biotechnological processes.
Our mission and strategy
To create breakthrough technology for the sustainable and competitive production of (bulk) chemicals and fuels by microorganisms.
On our route to this mission, we focus on a number of aspects to develop new biotechnological processes combining our expertise and to enforce a breakthrough.
Research topics
- Redox-neutral conversion
- Net ATP-production
- Reduce oxygen utilization
- Growth uncoupled production
- Energy management
- Survival under industrial conditions
- Protein production in the hydrogen-based economy
- Phase separation
Expertise and techniques
- Bioreactor design
- Fermentation technology
- (Quantitative) Physiology
- Metabolic engineering
- Genetic modification
We combine different techniques and analyses in our research. These include amongst others; bioreactor cultivations, enzyme assays, fluorescence-based technologies, metabolic modelling, (CRISPR-Cas based) genetic modifications, evolutionary engineering and other analytical techniques.
Our projects
Degrading Gradients in Industrial Bioreactors
Well-mixed lab-scale bioreactors provide microorganisms with stable homogenous conditions throughout the vessel. In contrast, industrial-scale reactors are often not sufficiently mixed, leading to concentration gradients in pH, gasses, and carbon sources. For example, dissolved oxygen levels are often high near the bottom and depleted at the top, while glucose concentrations display the opposite trend. Consequently, microorganisms continuously move through different microenvironments, significantly impacting cellular performance. Therefore, reproducing promising lab-scale titres, rates, and yields during scale-up can be troublesome. Typical strategies to resolve gradients focus on improving the bioreactor itself but are often insufficient while increasing the energy input, complexity, and risk of contaminations. This project will take a different approach by engineering the microorganisms to themselves degrade the gradients.
Contact persons: Martijn den Hoed and Ruud .A. Weusthuis
Partners: University of Groningen, Delft University of Technology, dsm-firmenich, Evonik
Degrading Gradients in Industrial Bioreactors
Well-mixed lab-scale bioreactors provide microorganisms with stable homogenous conditions throughout the vessel. In contrast, industrial-scale reactors are often not sufficiently mixed, leading to concentration gradients in pH, gasses, and carbon sources. For example, dissolved oxygen levels are often high near the bottom and depleted at the top, while glucose concentrations display the opposite trend. Consequently, microorganisms continuously move through different microenvironments, significantly impacting cellular performance. Therefore, reproducing promising lab-scale titres, rates, and yields during scale-up can be troublesome. Typical strategies to resolve gradients focus on improving the bioreactor itself but are often insufficient while increasing the energy input, complexity, and risk of contaminations. This project will take a different approach by engineering the microorganisms to themselves degrade the gradients.
Contact persons: Martijn den Hoed and Ruud .A. Weusthuis
Partners: University of Groningen, Delft University of Technology, dsm-firmenich, Evonik
Contact us
Research themes
Bioprocess Engineering
Bioprocess Engineering, led by Rene Wijffels, teaches and develops innovative bio-based processes.
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