Production of High Value Products from Gaseous Waste Streams

Greenhouse emissions from transportation and manufacturing industries are a major cause of anthropogenic climate change. Technologies that remove carbon dioxide and displace petroleum- based processes are urgently needed to combat global warming. One promising route to displacing petroleum is to use microbes that can grow on carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas to produce valuable products. Visolis aims to develop a novel hybrid process using engineered microbes to convert gaseous waste streams into a range of petroleum replacement products, used in a variety of industries including plastics, pharmaceuticals and transportation. This will simultaneously prevent the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and produce a sustainable green alternative to fossil fuels at a cost competitive price. The key technology developed under the grant is a process to convert greenhouse gases into plastics and fuels. With full development, our process will produce a portfolio of high value chemicals, as well as an inexpensive 2nd generation biofuel that meets American and European transportation standards, which can compete with fossil fuel.