Methane to bioproducts: the future of the bioeconomy?

• Published in: Current opinion in chemical biology 2017-12, Vol.41, p.123-131
• Main Authors: Pieja, Allison J, Morse, Molly C, Cal, Andrew J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1367-5931; 1879-0402
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2017.10.024

•Interest in the biological production of products from methane is rapidly growing.•The most-studied products are methanol, PHA, and single cell protein.•Genetic modification could open doors to many new products.•Methane is a promising substrate for the growing bioeconomy. Methanotrophs have been studied since the 1970s, but interest has increased tremendously in recent years due to their potential to transform methane into valuable bioproducts. The vast quantity of available methane and the low price of methane as natural gas have helped to spur this interest. The most well-studied, biologically-derived products from methane include methanol, polyhydroxyalkanoates, and single cell protein. However, many other high-interest chemicals such as biofuels or high-value products such as ectoine could be made industrially relevant through metabolic engineering. Although challenges must be overcome to achieve commercialization of biologically manufactured methane-to-products, taking a holistic view of the production process or radically re-imagining pathways could lead to a future bioeconomy with methane as the primary feedstock.