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| Home > Publications database > OptiCellu : A multidisciplinary approach towards the sustainable production of cellulose fibres |
| Home > Publications database > OptiCellu : A multidisciplinary approach towards the sustainable production of cellulose fibres |
| Poster (Invited) | FZJ-2026-01182 |
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2025
Abstract: In the project Opticellu, we aim to establish an alternative approach based on enzyme biotechnology for the sustainable production of cellulose fibres from plant biomass, accounting for the complexity of the substrate while also achieving a fine control of the properties of the final product. This calls for a combination of expertise in three scientific units: experimental, computational, and manufacturing and innovations.In the first step, the chemical composition of plant cell walls of several biomasses is characterised; and based on their properties, hemp and miscanthus are selected as the reference biomass for further analysis. Extracted fibres are examined to correlate the pectin and lignin contents to fibre spinnability. In parallel, suitable enzymes are selected for cleaving hemicellulose and pectin linkages in Miscanthus. This preliminary selection of enzymes includes endo-1,4-beta-xylanase (GH10 and GH11) and endopolygalacturonase (GH28). In order to enhance the recombinant expression of proteins in selected host organisms a free and open-source web application (https://expressinhost.cs.hhu.de/) is under development. With its library of more than 4000 organisms, the web application provides a userfriendly platform for experimentalists to optimise gene expression in the host organisms. For a deeper understanding of the enzymatic degumming process, computational modelling of lignin and hemicellulose and their interactions with enzymes are being implemented at two scales. At the atomistic level, MD simulations elucidate the detailed chemical structure of lignin and hemicellulose. The PyPE_RESP python tool has been developed to enable and standardize the restrained electrostatic potential for the molecular mechanics force field for lignin molecules. At the mesoscale, coarse-grained stochastic simulations model the enzymatic degumming process through time while accounting for the detailed three-dimensional structure of the microfibril. Finally, focus group discussions gain insights into consumer acceptance of cellulose-based products for different use case scenarios
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