Current Research Projects in the Laboratory of Dr. Hallenbeck

 

Microbial Technologies in Advanced Biofuels Development                                     

                    

 

Advanced biofuels production is necessary to meet the climate change challenge and the need to secure a future energy supply.  My laboratory is carrying out research projects in a number of areas in this field.

 

Biological hydrogen production

Hydrogen is poised to become an important future energy carrier.  Renewable hydrogen production is key to making it a truly sustainable replacement for fossil fuels, and for realizing its full potential in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  To this end, we have been investigating biological hydrogen production by microbial fermentation.  This process would use readily available wastes, thus solving another environmental problem, as well as presently unutilized bioresources, including enormous supplies of agricultural and forestry wastes.  In addition, only relatively simple fermenter and bioproccess technology is required.  In order to make this process practical, obtainable yields must be increased.  We are carrying out metabolic engineering to create novel strains with increased yields.  We are also developing photofermentation processes, which use light capture by photosynthetic bacteria, to convert waste glycerol derived from biodiesel, or sugars derived from cellulose, into hydrogen.  

 

Biofuels from Algae

We are collecting, isolating and characterizing algae from different locations in Quebec for possible use in biofuels production.  In particular, we are looking for algae naturally high in lipids which could be converted to biodiesel.  Eventually it might be possible to produce biofuels in a renewable manner by situating algal ponds near industrial facilities producing waste heat and carbon dioxide which could be fixed and

converted to a biofuel.  Using a waste stream as water source will reduce the cost of nutrients for the algal culture, reduce the demand on clean water supplies, and provide waste treatment.

 

Regulation of Nitrogen Fixation in the Photosynthetic Bacteria

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/j.1365-2958.2008.06514.x/asset/image_n/MMI_6514_f1.gif?v=1&t=gg3t6ru1&s=c50823ac7d5fcf47e2b081292a5810e59baf0dc8Nitrogenase in the photosynthetic bacteria is tightly controlled at three levels.  We are investigating how the bacterium senses changes in its environment and regulates nitrogenase through covalent modification and metabolic flux.  At present, we are concentrating on the mechanism of action of AmtB, a membrane bound sensor which is a member of a family of proteins widely found in bacteria, archaea , and eucaryotes.  In the photosynthetic bacteria, AmtB appears to function by changing its interaction with PII proteins, soluble cytoplasmic proteins that play key roles in the regulation of nitrogen metabolism.  We are targeting key amino acids in AmtB by site-directed mutagenesis and studying the effects of the introduced changes on ammonium transport, interaction with PII proteins, and “switch-off” of nitrogenase.

 

 

 

Dr. Hallenbecks CV