(579b) Conversion of Gluconate and Glycerol to Ethnaol Using the Recombinant Klebsiella Oxytoca Strains

Gluconate could potentially be directly produced from cellulosic biomass and is an attractive substrate for fuels and chemicals production. While gluconate was used as the substrate for ethanol production, a small fraction of the acetate has to be produced along with ethanol due to the fact that gluocnate was an more oxidized substrate than glucose. This study explore the co-fermentation of gluconate and glycerol, which is a more reduced substrate than glucose and a biodiesel byproduct for balanced ethanol production. Strain engineering strategies were applied to improve the overall ethanol yield by deleting the competing pathways.