9-05: Whole-cell biocatalytic production of 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA)

FDCA (2,5-furandicarboxylic acid) is a highly promising biobased replacement for phtalates in resins and polymers [1]. Recently, a lab-scale process for the biocatalytic production of FDCA from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has been developed based on a specific oxidase from the furan degrading bacterium Cupriavidus basilensis HMF14 [2, 3]. The lab-scale FDCA production process is presently further developed, a.o., in the framework of the BE-Basic programme (www.be-basic.org), to an integrated pilot- and eventually full-scale process.

A key issue for economically feasible FDCA production is the availability of cheap HMF, which will be obtained through catalytic dehydration of biomass-derived hexoses while minimizing additional processing. The stress tolerance properties of the employed whole-cell biocatalyst, Pseudomonas putida S12, are expected to be essential for effcient biotransformation of raw, unpurified HMF in view of the anticipated presence of various inhibiting compounds other than the HMF substrate. Upscaling the P. putida fermentation as well as FDCA recovery and (ultra-)purification are also under investigation to enable a fully integrated pilot-scale production process for FDCA from biomass. The pilot scale process aims at delivering sufficient quantities of product, in sufficient purity, for polymer and resin product development.

1. Werpy T, Petersen G. (2004) U.S. Department of Energy; NREL/TP-510-35523

2. Koopman, FW, Wierckx NJP, De Winde JH, Ruijssenaars HJ (2010) Biores Technol 101: 6291-6196

3. Koopman, FW, Wierckx NJP, De Winde JH, Ruijssenaars HJ (2010) Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 107: 4919-4924