Biofuel Research Journal

On the Cover

The efficient bioconversion of industrial waste streams into value-added biopolymers is central to advancing a circular bioeconomy. This issue features a breakthrough study by a research team from Thailand and Japan, demonstrating how metabolic rewiring of Escherichia coli can unlock high-yield production of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) from both glucose and crude glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel production (DOI: 10.18331/BRJ2025.12.3.2). By deleting the edd gene in the Entner–Doudoroff pathway and expressing PHB biosynthesis genes from Cupriavidus necator A-04, the engineered strain redirected carbon flux through the pentose phosphate pathway, boosting NADPH availability and PHB biosynthetic efficiency. This approach achieved up to 7.6 g/L PHB with a 93 wt% content from glucose and 74.8 wt% PHB from crude glycerol within 24 hours. These findings highlight a cost-effective and sustainable strategy for transforming biodiesel industry byproducts into biodegradable polymers, paving the way for scalable, greener bioplastic production. Cover art by BiofuelResJ. ©2025.