UC breakthrough aims to make biofuel cheaper
UC, national lab study how alcohol damages microbes that produce it
One limitation of producing biofuel is that the alcohol created by fermentation is toxic to the microbes that produce it.
Now scientists are closer to overcoming this obstacle.
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory achieved a breakthrough in understanding the vulnerability of microbes to the alcohols they produce during fermentation of plant biomass.
With the national lab’s neutron scattering and simulation equipment, the team analyzed fermentation of the biofuel butanol, an energy-packed alcohol that also can be used as a solvent or chemical feedstock.
Jonathan Nickels. Photo/Corrie Mayer/CEAS Marketing
Butanol is toxic to the very microorganisms that produce it. This toxicity limits the amount of butanol that can be generated during fermentation, presenting a challenge to bio-based production, said Jonathan Nickels, an associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.
“The primary location of toxicity is in the membrane,” Nickels said. “Ultimately, the solvent thins it out and makes it softer and less stable. Ultimately, you get holes in the membrane. When this happens, the cell loses the ability to generate energy.”
Researchers found that butanol tends to accumulate unevenly around the membrane, causing some regions to thin more than others. This could be responsible for the cell stress and less efficient fermentation.
They shared their results in the journal Langmuir.
Working with world-leading scientists and staff at a national lab is a tremendous privilege.
Jonathan Nickels, UC College of Engineering and Applied Science
Lead author Luoxi Tan, a doctoral graduate of UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, is continuing this collaboration as a postdoctoral researcher at the national laboratory. He said researchers now will look to see if they can make biofuel more efficiently by stabilizing the membranes of the cells in the biomass.
“(The findings) provide us with new targets to reduce the influence of these fermentation products,” Tan said.
Researchers investigated the processes occurring during fermentation using neutron scattering experiments that allow for non-destructive testing of the membrane, letting scientists see the structures and arrangements of molecules.
“Neutrons give you the ability to probe the interior of the membrane to help determine how the butanol is distributed,” said Hugh O’Neill, director of the Center for Structural Molecular Biology at Oak Ridge.
Researchers used supercomputers to perform molecular dynamics simulations to examine how atoms and molecules move and interact over time.
Nickels said these tools allowed researchers to see what’s happening to the structure of a cell’s membrane at the molecular level.
“The findings have very relevant and meaningful long-term implications,” Nickels said. “We want to make biofuels more efficient, which would have significant economic outcomes.”
Nickels said he is proud of his longtime collaboration with Oak Ridge.
“It’s a great collaboration. Working with world-leading scientists and staff at a national lab is a tremendous privilege. And it provides inspiration and an environment for great work for a student's doctoral research.”
The project was funded by the national lab’s Center for Structural Molecular Biology and the DOE Office of Science’s Solvent Disruption of Biomass and Biomembranes Science Focus Area, also known as the Biofuels SFA, led by Oak Ridge.
Featured image at top: UC collaborated with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on research examining ways to improve the efficiency of biofuel. Photo/Unsplash
Next Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Recent advances may speed time to endometriosis diagnosis
March 16, 2026
The average time to clinical diagnosis of endometriosis is nine years. Definitive diagnosis of the disease is difficult, and until recently, has relied on laparoscopic surgery. Now, as Medscape recently reported, novel clinical recommendations, advanced diagnostic tools and research into inflammation and immune responses, are bringing promise that women with endometriosis will find relief sooner and without surgery, according to experts, including Katie Burns, PhD, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine associate professor.
Position-specific helmets may not improve protection
March 16, 2026
Local 12 highlighted a new study by biomedical engineering researchers that looked at how well new football helmets protected players from impacts that can cause concussions.
Local media highlight completion of Blood Cancer Healing Center fourth and fifth floors
March 16, 2026
Local media including WLWT and the Cincinnati Business Courier highlighted the opening of research laboratories and the UC Osher Wellness Suite and Learning Kitchen at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center’s Blood Cancer Healing Center.