ChBE Seminar Series: Laura Jarboe
Friday, September 14, 2012
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Room 2110 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Bldg.
For More Information:
Professor Jeffery B. Klauda
jbklauda@umd.edu

Overcoming Biocatalyst Inhibition for Robust Production of Biorenewable Fuels and Chemicals

Laura Jarboe
Assistant Professor
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Iowa State University

Overcoming biocatalyst inhibition, whether by the target metabolic product, the substrate of interest, or contaminants in the feedstock, is a significant challenge for cost-effective production of biorenewable fuels and chemicals. Rational engineering efforts can be employed when the mechanism of inhibition is known, such as by transcriptome analysis. Contrastingly, reverse engineering of evolved strains can also reveal the mechanism of inhibition. This talk describes examples of both approaches involving production of inhibitory products, such as short-chain carboxylic acid, and the use of cheap (“dirty”) biomass-derived substrates, such as pyrolytic sugars and furfural-contaminated biomass hydrolysate.

This Event is For: Graduate • Faculty • Post-Docs