After bio-isoprene, now it could be bio-butadiene

ERJ staff report (DS)

Seattle, Washington, A small US-based bio-engineering startup has won a large grant to help it design an enzyme capable of making butadiene monomer.

Seattle-based Arzeda Corp has won a $149 237 (euro 100 000) National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) phase I grant in the amount of $149K grant for the computational design and experimental validation of an enzyme for the production of butadiene from plants and plant-derived materials rather than from petroleum.

The project will begin on 1 January and runs for six months. In the grant application, Arzeda said, "The anticipated result is a novel enzyme that converts 2,3-butandiol into butadiene in the test tube. Ultimately, this project will lead to a fermentation process to convert cellulosic sugars directly into butadiene."

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Press release from Arzeda

Grant award document from NSF