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Chenyu Du

Lecturer in Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Science

Contact

  • workRoom C05 Bioenergy and Brewing Sciences Building
    Sutton Bonington Campus
    Sutton Bonington
    Leicestershire
    LE12 5RD
    UK
  • work0115 951 6694

Teaching Summary

A studentship for Home and EU students is currently available. For details, please contact Chenyu Du directly.

D24BS6 Brewery Waste Management and Environmental Issues.

J13WWT Waste and Waste Water Treatment

H84ARE Advanced Reacion Engineering

Director of MSc in Sustainable Bioenergy

Research Summary

A studentship for Home and EU students is currently available. For details, please contact Chenyu Du directly.

There is a significant increase of energy consumption worldwide in the recent decades. However, the current energy supply are mainly based on fossil fuels (over 80%), such as coal, oil and gas. Fossil fuels were formed millions of years ago and are generally regarded as finite, non-renewable. The current energy structure can not support a sustainable development of the society. The scientists and engineers have to find alternative ways to meet the increasing demand of energy. One possible alternative solution is to develop biofuel production process. Biofuel process uses sustainable raw materials, such as wheat straw, grass, forest residue, as substrates. The bioprocess is environmental benign. And a broad range of bioproducts, including biofuels, biochemical and biopolymer could be produced from bioprocesses and are used as replacement to the petroleum based products.

My current research interests focus on the development of novel bioprocess to produce biofuel and biochemical from sustainable raw materials. This include fermentation, metabolic engineering, molecular engineering, mathematic modeling and process integration. The objective of the research is to develop key technologies to solve one or two essential problems in the biofuel production processes.

Selected Publications

Past Research

Dr. Chenyu Du obtained his PhD degree in Tsinghua University, China, working on the biosynthesis of 1,3-propanediol from glycerol using Klebsiella pneumoniae.(which was classified at Klebsiella oxytoca later). This involved the fermentation process monitoring and control, strain improvement and process modelling.

After moving to the University of Manchester in Jan 2006, his research focussed on platform chemical production from sustainable raw materials (funded by EPSRC). In this project, succinic acid was selected as a model chemical to demonstrate the idea of producing platform chemicals from wheat and wheat milling by-products. Various biorefinery strategies were developed to convert raw material into microbial generic feedstocks based on submerged fungal fermentation or solid-state fungal fermentation. Then the generic feedstock was converted into succinic acid by bacterial fermentations. Both fermentation broth and purified SA were produced and were subject to the production of value-added SA derivatives via chemical transformations by our collaborators in the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, the University of York.

From Feb 2009 to May 2010, Dr. Chenyu Du worked in Biocaldol London, developing a 2nd generation bioethanol from lignocellulose raw materials using a thermophilic strain.

In Jun 2010, Dr. Chenyu Du was appointed as a lecturer in Biochemical Engineering in the University of Nottingham. In his new role, he will be involved in the research of Lignocellosic Conversion to Ethanol program (LACE program, funded by BBSRC Sustainable Bio Energy Centre). He will also have the responsibility of development of bio-energy related modules in the school of Biosciences and the department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering.

Bioethanol Project

Fermentative bioethanol production from raw sustainable materials using a thermophilic strain.

A framework was established for evaluating opportunities for co-product production and process integration in wheat biorefineries, in particular, for extracting arabinoxylans from wheat bran within a bioethanol production plant.

Succinic acid project

Developed four biorefinery strategies to convert wheat or wheat milling by-products into microbial generic feedstocks based on submerged fungal fermentation or solid-state fungal fermentation. Investigated the replacement of semi-defined media by wheat-derived media.

Designed small anaerobic bioreactor using Duran bottles. Adapted fermenters to continuous, fed-batch, immobilised fermentations.

Developed an ion-exchanged pretreated direct crystallisation method. The purity of the recovered SA solid was 99% with a yield of 0.95 g SA/ g SA produced.

Investigated the substrate and product inhibition effect and proposed a growth kinetic model.

1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD, PDO) project

Within this project, the 1,3-propanediol production was enhanced from 15 g/L to 73 g/L, which is one of the highest results reported to date.

Innovatively introduced Oxidoreduction Potential (ORP) into 1,3-propanediol biosynthesis system as a parameter to optimise fermentation processes. Developed a novel ORP-based screening strategy for the isolation of mutant strains with an improved desired phenotype.

Established a segregated unstructured numerical model for the kinetic of 1,3-propanediol fermentation using MATLAB. An auto-substrate-supplying strategy was established based on this model, leading to the improvement of fermentation control.

Modified the metabolic pathway by genetic engineering. The gene of Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase was knocked out by inserting a tetracycline resistance gene to block the pathway from Acetyl-CoA to alcohol, which is the main by-product in 1,3-propanediol biosynthesis in this strain.

Acrylamide project

A process package for biological acrylamide production from pilot scale to 10,000 ton/year plant scale was developed. It involved the collection of original operation and control data, the calculation of overall material and energy balances, the analysis of cost-benefit and the improvement of unit operations. This package was accepted for the construction of the factory and the process has been in operation since 2001.

Future Research

Converting the biomass to simple sugars To investigate the feasibility of using cellulose (β-1,4 linked glucose molecules), hemicellulose as raw materials to produce generic feedstocks for the production of bioethanol To develop physical/chemical assistant enzymatic hydrolysis processes to liberate simple sugars from cellulose and hemicellulose To screen robust microorganisms for the effective production of celllulase and hemicellulase To genetically modify microorganisms to improve cellulase and hemicellulase productions Converting the simple sugars into biofuel To improve the xylose to bioethanol production by fermentation optimisation To genetically modify Yeast strains to utilise both pentose and hexose simultaneously To investigate immobilised fermentation in bioethanol productions

  • LIN, C.S.K, LUQUE, R, CLARK, J, WEBB, C and DU C.*, 2012. Wheat-based biorefining strategy for fermentative production and chemical transformations of succinic acid Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining. 6(1), 88-104
  • DU, C. SABIROVA J, SOETEART W, AND LIN S, 2012. Polyhydroxyalkanoates Production from Low-cost Sustainable Raw Materials. Current Chemical Biology. Volume 6, Number 1(12), 14-25
  • LIN C.S.K, LUQUE R, CLARK J.H and WEBB C. AND DU C*, 2011. A seawater-based biorefining strategy for fermentative production and chemical transformations of succinic acid Energy Environ. Sci. 4, 1471-1479
  • DU, C. AND WEBB, C., 2011. Cellular Systems. In: Murray. In: MURRAY MOO-YOUNG, ed., Comprehensive Biotechnology 2nd Edition. Volume 2. Elsevier. 11–23
  • LIN, CSK, LUQUE, R, CLARK, JH, WEBB, C and DU, CY, 2011. A Seawater-Based Biorefining Strategy For Fermentative Production And Chemical Transformations Of Succinic Acid Energy & Environmental Science. 4(4), 1471-1479
  • LIN, S., DU, C., BLAGA, A., CAMARUT, M., WEBB, C., STEVENS, C. and SOETAERT, W., 2010. Novel resin-based vacuum distillation-crystallisation method for recovery of succinic acid crystals from fermentation broths Green Chemistry. VOL 12(NUMBER 4), 666-671
  • DU, C., CAMPBELL, G.M., MISAILIDIS, N., MATEOS-SALVADOR, F., SADHUKHAN, J., MUSTAFA, M. and WEIGHTMAN, R.M., 2009. Evaluating the feasibility of commercial arabinoxylan production in the context of a wheat biorefinery principally producing ethanol. Part I. Experimental studies of arabinoxylan extraction from wheat bran Trans IChemE Part A: Chemical Engineering Research and Design. VOL 87(ISSU 9), 1232-1238
  • MISAILIDIS, N., CAMPBELL, G.M., DU, C., SADHUKHAN, J., MUSTAFA, M., MATEOS-SALVADOR, F. and WEIGHTMAN, R.M., 2009. Evaluating the feasibility of commercial arabinoxylan production in the context of a wheat biorefinery principally producing ethanol. Part 2. Process simulation and economic analysis Trans IChemE Part A: Chemical Engineering Research and Design. VOL 87(ISSU 9), 1239-1250
  • LUQUE, R., LIN, C. K., DU, C., MACQUARRIE, D., KOUTINAS, A., WANG, R., WEBB, C. and CLARK, J., 2009. Chemical transformations of succinic acid recovered from fermentation broths by a novel direct vacuum distillation-crystallisation method Green Chemistry. VOL 11(NUMBER 2), 193-200
  • DORADO, M. P., LIN, S. K., KOUTINAS, A., DU, C., WANG, R. and WEBB, C., 2009. Cereal-based biorefinery development: Utilisation of wheat milling by-products for the production of succinic acid Journal of Biotechnology. VOL 143(NUMBER 1), 51-59
  • ZHANG, YANPING, HUANG, ZHIHUA, DU, CHENYU, LI, YIN and CAO, ZHU'AN, 2009. Introduction of an NADH regeneration system into Klebsiella oxytoca leads to an enhanced oxidative and reductive metabolism of glycerol. Metabolic engineering. 11(2), 101-6
  • DU, CHENYU, LIN, SZE KI CAROL, KOUTINAS, APOSTOLIS, WANG, RUOHANG, DORADO, PILAR and WEBB, COLIN, 2008. A wheat biorefining strategy based on solid-state fermentation for fermentative production of succinic acid. Bioresource technology. 99(17), 8310-5
  • SADHUKHAN, J., MUSTAFA, M. A., MISAILIDIS, N., MATEOS-SALVADOR, F., DU, C. and CAMPBELL, G. M., 2008. Value analysis tool for feasibility studies of biorefineries integrated with value added production Chemical Engineering Science. VOL 63(NUMBER 2), 503-519
  • KOUTINAS, A, DU, C and WANG, R.H. AND WEBB, C., 2008. Production of Chemicals from Biomass. In: JAMES CLARK AND FABIEN DESWARTE, ed., Intorudction to Chemicals from Biomass Wiley. 77-102
  • LIN, S. K., DU, C., KOUTINAS, A., WANG, R. and WEBB, C., 2008. Substrate and product inhibition kinetics in succinic acid production by Actinobacillus succinogenes Biochemical Engineering Journal. VOL 41(NUMBER 2), 128-135
  • HUANG, Z.-H., ZHANG, Y.-P., DU, C.-Y., HUANG, X. and CAO, Z.-A., 2007. Improvement of 1,3-Propanediol Production with a Recombinant Strain Klebsiella pneumoniae F-1 by Regulating Redox Potential The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. VOL 7(PART 5), 1014-1017
  • DU, CHENYU, LIN, SZE KI CAROL, KOUTINAS, APOSTOLIS, WANG, RUOHANG and WEBB, COLIN, 2007. Succinic acid production from wheat using a biorefining strategy. Applied microbiology and biotechnology. 76(6), 1263-70
  • DU, CHENYU, ZHANG, YANPING, LI, YIN and CAO, ZHU'AN, 2007. Novel redox potential-based screening strategy for rapid isolation of Klebsiella pneumoniae mutants with enhanced 1,3-propanediol-producing capability. Applied and environmental microbiology. 73(14), 4515-21
  • DU, C., LIN, S. K., CLARK, J. and WEBB, C., 2007. Platform chemical production from wheat-based biorefining strategy Journal of Biotechnology. VOL 131(NUMBER 2), S145
  • ZHANG, Y., DU, C., HUANG, Z., LIU, M. and CAO, Z., 2006. Effects of aldehyde dehydrogenase gene knockout on 1,3-propanediol production by Klebsiella pneumoniae Journal of Chemical Industry and Engineering. VOL 57(PART 11), 2686-2692
  • DU, CHENYU, YAN, HUI, ZHANG, YANPING, LI, YIN and CAO, ZHUAN, 2006. Use of oxidoreduction potential as an indicator to regulate 1,3-propanediol fermentation by Klebsiella pneumoniae. Applied microbiology and biotechnology. 69(5), 554-63
  • WANG, B.-G., LIU, M., DU, C.-Y., HUANG, Z.-H., SHEN, J.-Y. and CAO, Z.-A., 2006. Screening of Klebsiella pneumoniae Mutation for the Production of 1,3-Propanediol China Biotechnology. VOL 26(NUMB 6), 59-65
  • ZHANG, Y.-P., LIU, M., DU, C.-Y., SHEN, J.-Y. and CAO, Z.-A., 2006. Effect of By-products on Cell Growth and Biosynthesis of 1,3-Propanediol by Klebsiella pneumoniae The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. VOL 6(PART 5), 804-808
  • ZHANG, YANPING, LI, YIN, DU, CHENYU, LIU, MING and CAO, ZHU'AN, 2006. Inactivation of aldehyde dehydrogenase: a key factor for engineering 1,3-propanediol production by Klebsiella pneumoniae. Metabolic engineering. 8(6), 578-86
  • WANG, B.-G., LIU, M., DU, C.-Y., SHEN, J.-Y. and CAO, Z.-A., 2006. Recent Developments in Microbial Metabolic Engineering for the Production of 1,3-Propanediol The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. VOL 6(PART 1), 144-149
  • DU, C.-Y., LIU, M., RAO, Z., BAO, X.-W., SHEN, J.-Y. and CAO, Z.-A., 2005. Effect of Alternative Aeration on Key Enzymes and Coenzymes in 1,3-Propanediol Production by Klebsiella pneumoniae The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. VOL 5(PART 5), 544-548
  • ZHANG, Y.-P., DU, C.-Y., RAO, Z. and CAO, Z.-A., 2005. Regulation of Vitamin C and Vitamin E on the Biosynthesis of 1,3-Propanediol by Klebsiella pneumoniae Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. VOL 5(PART 2), 199-200
  • ZHANG, Y.-P., RAO, Z., DU, C.-Y., LI, C. and CAO, Z.-A., 2004. Effect of ATP Addition on 1,3-Propanediol Biosynthesis from Glycerol by Klebsiella pneumoniae The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. VOL 4(PART 6), 571-575
  • DU, C., LI, C., YANG, D., ZHANG, Y. and CAO, Z., 2004. Biocatalysis-coupled Cell Growth Process in 1,3-Propanediol Production by Klebsiella pneumoniae The Chinese Journal of Chemical Industry and Engineering. VOL 55(PART 3), 505
  • MING LIU, CHENYU DU, ZHU’AN CAO AND CHUN LI., 2004. Oxidoreduction potential online control in 1,3-propanediol production by Klebsiella sp. Chinese Invention Patent. 200410086573.7 01/01/1900 00:00:00
  • YANG, D, LI, C, DU, C, ZHANG, Y and CAO Z, 2003. Production of 1,3-propanediol by Klebsiella pneumoniae in two stages two substrates fermentation. The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering. 3, 269-273
  • CHUN LI, DONG YANG, CHENYU DU, ZHU’AN CAO., 2003. The two-phase two-substrate integration fermentation process of Klebsiella sp. Chinese Invention Patent, CN03119280.7 01/01/1900 00:00:00
  • DU, C, LI, C, ZHANG, M and CAO, Z., 2003. Application and development of industry biocatalysis process and biocatalysts. The Chinese Journal of Chemical Industry and Engineering. 54, 456-463
  • DU, C, ZHENG, Y, LI, C and CAO, Z., 2002. The essential of industrial biotechnology biocatalysis. The Chinese Journal of Progress in Biotechnology. 1, 9-14

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

The University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD


telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 4081
email:eng-student-support@nottingham.ac.uk