Methane-to-Acetate

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Program:
REMOTE
Award:
$3,000,000
Location:
University Park, Pennsylvania
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
01/01/2014 - 06/30/2017
Website:

Technology Description:

Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) is engineering a type of bacteria known as Methanosarcina acetivorans to produce acetate from methane gas. Current approaches to methane conversion are energy-intensive and result in substantial waste of carbon dioxide. Penn State will engineer a pathway for converting methane to a chemical called acetate by reversing the natural pathway for acetate to methanol conversion. This new approach is advantageous because it consumes carbon dioxide, produces energy-rich carbon-carbon bonds, and conserves electrons to make the molecules produced reactive and easy to combine with other molecules. The acetate generated can be used to form polymers that can be further processed into liquid fuels.

Potential Impact:

If successful, Penn State’s technology will enable cost-effective, energy-efficient and carbon-efficient conversion of natural gas to liquid fuels.

Security:

An improved bioconversion process could create cost-competitive liquid fuels significantly reducing demand for foreign oil.

Environment:

This technology would allow for utilization of small-scale remote natural gas resources or methane and carbon rich gas residues for fuel production reducing harmful emissions associated with conventional fuel technologies.

Economy:

Expanding U.S. natural gas resources via bioconversion to liquid fuels could contribute tens of billions of dollars to the nation's economy while reducing or stabilizing transport fuel prices.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Marc von Keitz
Project Contact:
Dr. James "Greg" Ferry
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
jgf3@psu.edu

Related Projects

• Arzeda - Metalloenzymes for Methane Activation
• Calysta Energy - Bioreactor Designs for Rapid Fermentation
• Coskata - Methanol Fermentation in Clostridium Bacteria
• GreenLight Biosciences - Cell-Free Bioconversion of Natural Gas
• LanzaTech - Bioreactor with Improved Methane Transfer
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) - Enzymes for Methane Conversion
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Single-Step Methane to Liquid Fuels
• MOgene Green Chemicals - Sunlight-Assisted Methane Conversion
• Northwestern University - New Synthetic Catalysts for Methane Activation
• Oregon State University (OSU) - Bioreactor Using Ultra-Thin Plates
• Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) - Methane-to-Acetate
• University of California, Davis (UC Davis) - Ethylene-to-Butanol
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Synthetic Pathway for Methanol Conversion
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Renewable Production of Commodity Chemicals
• University of Delaware (UD) - Methanol to Liquid Fuel
• University of Michigan - Methane-to-Methanol

Release Date:
03/15/2013