Organic Acids

3-Hydroxypropionic Acid (3-HP)

The global organic acids market moves billions of dollars annually, and many of these compounds are currently produced through bioprocesses. Among them, 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) has been described by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of the most promising products to be obtained in the context of biorefineries. Although it is not yet produced commercially on a large scale, 3-HP stands out as a building block for the production of various chemical compounds that are currently derived from petroleum. Thus, its production from renewable sources may contribute to the establishment of sustainable processes for the manufacture of several important chemicals, such as acrylic acid, which is widely used in polymer production.

In our laboratory, we use metabolic modeling simulations to define genetic modifications in Escherichia coli aimed at generating strains capable of efficiently producing 3-HP. Currently, the producer strains developed at LaFaC are among the most productive reported in the literature.