Thermo-Chemical Conversion of Microalgal Biomass for Bioenergy Derivatives
(Principal Investigator: Dr Paul Sharratt, Institute of Chemical & Engineering Sciences, A*STAR) Microalgae are the fastest growing plants in the world with high photon conversion efficiency and storage of carbon. They are reported to produce 15-300 times more lipid feedstock for biodiesel production than conventional, terrestrial bioenergy crops on an area basis, thus conflicting less with food production. Microalgae thus offer advantages over terrestrial crops in the development of a sustainable source of energy to replace fossil fuels as well as in the fixation of atmospheric carbon dioxide to mitigate against anthropogenic climate change. This project will expand upon existing research on microalgae for biodiesel feedstock production to investigate the potential of the residual (post extraction) biomass forthermochemical conversion. In this project, we will investigate conversion of lipid-depleted residual microalgal biomass using thermochemical (TC) processes to yield 'second generation' bioenergy derivatives. Lipids in microalgae account for up to 50% of the biomass dry weight. By investigating the potential for utilizing the residual biomass we seek to maximize the potential of this already efficient source of bioenergy feedstock. LCA and process optimization methodology analysis will be applied to quantify the energy and carbon balances of the overall conversion process and to target technical exploitation of the research.

Molecular engineering of membrane materials and fabrication for the separation of Acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) broths produced from non-food biomass
(Principal Investigator: Professor Chung Tai-Shung Neal, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, NUS) With rising focus on climate change and regenerative energy sources, biofuel produced from non-food biomass has gained importance and worldwide attention. To produce fuel grade alcohols from fermentation broth, concentration and separation must be conducted to yield 99.5 % alcohol. Separation cost is the major cost in biofuel production utilizing conventional processes. Hybrid membrane and distillation technologies to facilitate biofuel separation from biomass appear to be a very promising, economic and practical approach. Not only can one take advantages of plenty distillation infrastructure already in place, but also leverage on membranes' unique features such as low energy consumption, minimum contamination and maintenance, superior performance to breakup azeotropic mixtures. Therefore, pervaporation membranes specifically designed to dehydrate water from highly concentrated alcohol/water mixtures have received worldwide attention. Acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) with a mass ratio of approximately 3:6:1 will be chosen as our model solution in this study. Membranes with high flux and separation factor will be developed to concentrate alcohols from the model solutions through molecular engineering of novel membrane materials, chemical modifications and mixed matrix configuration.

From Lignocellulose to Butanol: a Microbial Solution to Emerging Energy Problems
(Principal Investigator: Assistant Professor He Jianzhong, Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, NUS) The tight crude oil supply and its negative impact on the environment is urging the quest to find renewable energy sources, such as solar power, wind power, and bio-fuels. Among the potential biofuels, butanol is a promising candidate because it has a higher energy density compared to ethanol or methanol, and more importantly, it can be derived from agricultural waste such as lignocellulosic materials. However, several obstacles limit the realization of butanol as a viable biofuel, such as the high energy input required to pre-treat the raw materials, generation of inhibitors, and low biofuel yields. The proposed study is aimed to produce butanol from lignocellulosic raw materials by using clean microbial processes and to reach a higher conversion rate than currently available high-cost technology. A comprehensive understanding of the organisms involved in butanol production will be performed at a molecular level. A lab scale batch reactor will be designed to produce butanol under optimized conditions.

Developing Novel Biocatalysts for Cellulosic Ethanol Production
(Principal Investigator: Dr. Geng Anli, School of Life Sciences and Chemical, Ngee Ann Polytechnic) Reducing the use of non-renewable fossil energy reserves together with improving the environment are two important reasons that drive interest in exploring bioethanol as an automotive fuel. Over the past two decades, considerable progress has been made in developing technology to convert lignocellulosic biomass to fuel ethanol. Continuing research is directed at reducing the cost by improving the biocatalyst for fermentation. Biomass pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and biomass hydrolysate fermentation have been identified as the key processes that significantly influence overall process efficiency and, in turn, process cost. This project will focus on the development of novel biocatalysts for both enzymatic hydrolysis and biomass hydrolysate fermentation. Specifically, we will develop enhanced microbes to produce high-strength lignocellulolytic enzyme cocktails for high-efficiency enzymatic hydrolysis. Concurrently, we will also develop a robust ethanologen, i.e an industrial yeast strain, which could co-ferment xylose with glucose.

Enhancing plant biomass for cellulosic ethanol production
(Principal Investigator: Professor Prakash Kumar, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, NUS) The need for new technology to meet increasing food and fuel demand in a sustainable manner is more important than ever. With the emergence of biofuels, the competing demands for food and fuel to meet the needs of the bourgeoning global population have reached critical stages. Hence, it is imperative that we apply modern technologies such as plant biotechnology to improve productivity per unit land area. In line with this, we have data that antisense suppression of a cytokinin binding protein gene in Arabidopsis and rice can lead to significant increase in plant biomass. Our technology will be of significant commercial interest to the biofuel industry. Therefore, in the current project we propose to apply this technology to attempt to increase biomass in a selected species of plant for biofuels, such as switchgrass.

Next Generation Fuels: Upgrading of Biomass-derived Pyrolysis Oil
(Principal Investigator: Dr Chang Jie, Institute of Chemical & Engineering Sciences, A*STAR) Pyrolysis is an effective method for converting solid biomass into liquid (bio-oils), including those feedstocks unsuitable for fermentation. Pyrolysis-derived bio-oils, which consist of a very complex mixture of water-soluble oxygenated compounds, "pyrolytic lignin", and appreciable proportion of water, can be potentially used for production of both fuels and chemicals. However, bio-oils are inherently complex, acidic, and thermally instable. The purpose of this project is to develop new technologies for converting these pyrolysis-derived bio-oils into marketable fuels and chemicals in a cost-effective manner using technologies similar to the current technologies for processing fossil fuels. This project will contribute to the development of next-generation "green" fuels and to the advance of the science and engineering of the biorefinery.

Development of Marine Algae for Biodiesel Feedstock
(Principal Investigator: Associate Professor Jeffrey Obbard, Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, NUS) Microalgae produce intracellular storage lipids in the form of triacetylglycerols (TAGs) which can be converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), or biodiesel, via a chemical transesterification reaction. Biodiesel has core advantages over petroleum diesel in that it is renewable, biodegradable, clean-burning, non-toxic and carbon neutral. Biofuel production is now the focal point of world attention due to escalating demand for crude oil, concerns over supply security, and environmental damage associated with crude oil extraction, processing and consumption. Singapore has invested in biodiesel production derived from primary feedstocks - mostly crude palm oil (CPO). The key aim of this study is to develop a local strain(s) of marine microalgae as a source of biomass lipids for the production of an indigenous biodiesel feed stock in Singapore. 
This will comprise the following five objectives:

1. Testing of isolated local strains of marine microalgae for intrinsic biomass and lipid production;
2. Measurement of fatty acid profiles in isolated strains of microalgae for fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) production;
3. Testing of microalgae strains for enhanced mixotrophic and heterotrophic growth;
4. Pursuing novel harvesting and lipid extraction methods;
5. To convert algal lipids into biodiesel using enhanced chemical tranesterification for non-polar lipids.