Difference between revisions of "Team:Hong Kong HKUST"

From plastics to the power line

The iGEM HKUST 2018 team attempts to generate electricity from the degradation of the most widely used plastic, polyethylene (PE), using a synthetic biology approach. Making use of E. coli engineered with genes encoding for laccase to degrade polyethylene into smaller alkane chains, our team recognizes the opportunity to further advance this project by addressing another key issue – energy. Using Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 strain’s inbuilt extracellular electron transport mechanism in tandem with genes responsible for alkane metabolism derived from Desulfatibacillum alkenivorans, we will generate electricity from the metabolism of degraded polyethylene, hoping that it will one day help in solving the world’s growing energy needs. Thus, our project serves as an integrated effort to simultaneously solve two crucial problems.

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We have integrated human practices into the design of our project through interviews, public survey, and collaboration. We have integrated the interview we had with Prof. Davis Bookhart, the head of the HKUST sustainability office, into the systematic design of our Microbial Fuel Cell. To enhance sustainability and prevent any pollution, we have implemented a carbon dioxide fixation system into our MFC so it will not emit extra carbon dioxide (end product of cellular respiration) as greenhouse gas. Survey from the public about the concerns and choices of using renewable energy had led to our decision to put the"improvement on electricity production efficiency" as our priority.