Sugar beet pulp—the fibrous leftovers from sugar production—currently ends up as low-value animal feed. This project engineers the yeast *Yarrowia lipolytica* to turn that waste into two high-value chemicals: zeaxanthin, a natural antioxidant used in food and cosmetics, and 1,4-butanediol (BDO), a commodity chemical essential for making plastics, solvents, and pharmaceuticals. The problem is straightforward: the UK’s sugar industry generates thousands of tonnes of sugar beet pulp each year, and burning or landfilling it wastes a resource that could replace fossil-fuel feedstocks. Current chemical routes to BDO and zeaxanthin rely on petroleum. If this works, the yeast would consume the pulp’s sugars—L-arabinose and D-galacturonic acid—and produce the target molecules in a single fermentation step. The team combines machine learning, metabolic engineering, and bioprocess design to optimise the strains and scale up production. Success would give the UK’s nascent bio-based industry a concrete, waste-derived route to two chemicals with large existing markets. It would also demonstrate a circular biorefinery model that could be applied to other agricultural waste streams, reducing both carbon emissions and dependence on imported fossil fuels.
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Introduction According to the UK Biomass Strategy published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in 2023, sustainable biomass use across the economy plays a vital role in achieving the ambitious target of net zero carbon emission by 2050. Aligned with The Biomass Strategy Policy Statement, widespread biomass use in the industrial sector provides a low-carbon alternative to conventional chemical synthesis, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Sugar beet pulp (SBP), a major waste stream from sugar industries in the UK/Europe is currently sold as animal feed and its valorisation into more value-added products is essential to establish profitable SBP-based biorefineries. The proposal aims to design Yarrowia lipolytica-based cell factories to produce value-added chemicals [zeaxanthin and 1,4-butanediol (BDO)] from SBP, providing a sustainable route for the UK’s nascent bio-based industry. BDO, a tetracarbon diol, is an industrially important large-volume commodity with applications in the food, chemical, medical and pharmaceutical industries. BDO is used as a starting material for manufacturing different products including polybutylene terephthalate, tetrahydrofuran, ?-butyrolactone (GBL), and polybutylene succinate. Zeaxanthin is a naturally occurring carotenoid pigment and a potent antioxidant found in yellow vegetables and fruits, including corn, orange peppers, mangoes, pink grapefruit, apricots, etc. It has a wide range of applications, from colorants and antioxidants in the food industry to dietary food supplements and cosmetics. The consortium brings together the expertise of esteemed academics (Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, and Dr Razieh Rafieenia, Imperial College, London, Dr Vinod Kumar, Cranfield University and Dr Ahsan Islam, Loughborough University) and industrial partners (C-Source Renewables, and FRUU Cosmetics) who will provide in-kind support. The project will apply systems/synthetic biology, metabolic and bioprocess engineering approaches coupled with machine learning algorithms to ensure industrial scale production of zeaxanthin and BDO. The proposed research is part of a wider vision to enable efficient use of all major monosaccharides in lignocellulosic-based waste streams with a circular biorefining approach. Research Aim & Objectives The overall aim of the proposed research is to design and construct Y. lipolytica-based cell factories by rewiring its metabolic network to enable the sustainable biomanufacturing of zeaxanthin and BDO from SBP. This involves achieving specific and measurable milestones: I) Machine learning-based design of optimised strain engineering strategies, II) Construction of L-arabinose and D-galacturonic metabolising Y. lipolytica strains, III) Bioconversion of L-arabinose and D-galacturonic acid into zeaxanthin and BDO by the engineered Y. lipolytica strains, IV) Scaled-up production of target chemicals. The potential direct or indirect benefits: The project outcomes will hugely benefit the current, unsustainable, fossil fuel-based chemical industries, as these are identified as the key and direct beneficiaries of the work through the availability of environmentally friendly products. The profound research investigation and investment in this area will strengthen the bioeconomy, improve the economic viability of bio-based industries including pharmaceuticals, and polymer industries, and create new employment opportunities in the UK from researchers to engineers and operators. The efficient bioconversion of lignocellulosic-based wastes into value-added chemicals will benefit the polymer and pharmaceutical industries by contributing to circular biorefining, leading to more sustainable and environmentally friendly bioprocesses. Additionally, the use of wastes as inexpensive raw material will result in reduced process costs and, subsequently, lower market price of the final products.
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