Engineering the dark food chain : the role of methanotrophic bacteria in food production and climate change mitigation
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Humanity currently faces the global challenge of providing nutritious food to support our growing population in the face of catastrophic climate change. Current methods for food production contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions through demand for land, fertilizers and energy. Meanwhile, waste management and fossil fuel extraction industries release to the atmosphere large volumes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Methanotrophic (methane-oxidizing) bacteria present an opportunity to create low-carbon, sustainable food systems. When methanotrophs grow, they use methane as their primary source of carbon and energy, producing a protein-rich biomass that can serve as a new source of protein, offsetting current use of unsustainable animal feeds. Transforming methane into a high-value animal feed product can incentivize its capture, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Through a combination of critical review and analysis, laboratory research, and modeling studies, this dissertation investigates the role methanotrophs can play in food production and climate change mitigation. Chapter 2 establishes the framework of a dark food chain, which outlines how bacteria that grow independent of light can add value to human food production. Chapter 3 investigates the ways in which bacteria can add value when used as an aquaculture feed through health benefits derived from bacterial storage polymers. While these laboratory studies are ultimately inconclusive, we uncover and report inconsistencies in an experimental system used in aquaculture research. Finally, Chapter 4 is a techno-economic model that evaluates the market potential for methanotrophic protein to replace unsustainably harvested fishmeal in aquaculture feed. Taken together, these three chapters broaden scientific knowledge of how methanotrophs can contribute to food production while mitigating methane emissions, thus advancing the path towards industrial application.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic resource; remote; computer; online resource |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Place | California |
| Place | [Stanford, California] |
| Publisher | [Stanford University] |
| Copyright date | 2021; ©2021 |
| Publication date | 2021; 2021 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | El Abbadi, Sahar Head |
|---|---|
| Degree supervisor | Criddle, Craig |
| Degree supervisor | Luby, Stephen |
| Thesis advisor | Criddle, Craig |
| Thesis advisor | Luby, Stephen |
| Thesis advisor | Boehm, Alexandria |
| Thesis advisor | Naylor, Rosamond |
| Degree committee member | Boehm, Alexandria |
| Degree committee member | Naylor, Rosamond |
| Associated with | Stanford University, Civil & Environmental Engineering Department |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|---|
| Genre | Text |
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Sahar H. El Abbadi. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department. |
| Thesis | Thesis Ph.D. Stanford University 2021. |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/bg967bh2013 |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2021 by Sahar Head El Abbadi
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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