When Ramon Gonzalez discovered the secret to coaxing industrial E. coli strains to anaerobically ferment glycerin, commonly found in ethanol and biodiesel plant waste streams, he suspected it would be significant to the biofuels, ethanol and biochemicals industries. GlycosBio, the company founded around that discovery, is now on the verge of commercializing its biochemical production capabilities.

By Lisa Gibson

Years of study had convinced most researchers and scientists that the common lab microorganism E. coli could not ferment glycerin anaerobically to produce ethanol and biochemicals. So in 2004, when Ramon Gonzalez, then a professor at Iowa State University, discovered it was possible, he anticipated it would have a significant impact on the biofuels and biochemicals industries and co-founded a company, GlycosBio, in 2007 to capitalize on it.

Glycerin is a waste product of biodiesel production and is found in ethanol thin stillage, along with waste from other industries. It was in abundant supply at the time of his discovery, as it is now.