台灣地區能源匱乏，多半能源仰賴進口，加上近年來台灣工商業發展迅速，對能源的需求大增，並且極度仰賴石化燃料，自然再生能源的利用明顯不足。再則，由於能源幾乎全靠進口，若進口能源斷絕，則國內各項產業、生活機能及國防能力將迅速喪失，這是在台灣國家安全上之一大隱憂，因此開發自主能源乃為一重要課題。近來隨著科技進步及環境永續經營概念發展，生質能已漸成為當前最重要之再生能源。稻草為台灣之大宗農業廢棄物，經常利用就地掩埋或燃燒方式處理，殊為可惜，並造成空氣污染；狼尾草則為台灣一種植廣泛之牧草，具含糖量高特性。因此富含纖維質之稻草與狼尾草，都是極佳的生質能材料。本整合計畫總體目標，在於利用生物技術與生物工程方法處理這兩類纖維性能源作物(稻草與狼尾草)，達到轉換農業廢棄物為生質能源如酒精與氫燃料之目的。本子計畫目標為篩選效率高的厭氧嗜熱性纖維素水解菌及厭氧或兼氣產氫菌，探討所分離菌株對稻草與狼尾草之分解與產能。 Energy resources in Taiwan are greatly deficient. Most energy demand of Taiwan has relied upon importing. Meanwhile, the rapid industrial and commercial growth in Taiwan in recent years also led to an increasing demand for the energy, which is heavily dependent on the fossil fuels. In contrast, the utilization of renewable energy is obviously insufficient in Taiwan. The high dependency on imported energy marks the problems of national insecurity, as the interruption of importing source may paralyze most of our industries and also causes a disaster in our daily life. Therefore developing independent energy source is indeed a critical issue. Recently, biomass energy has become the most promising renewable energy due to the intensive development of relevant science and technology. A large amount of rice straw is produced in Taiwan as agricultural waste every year. These wastes are generally buried in ground or open-burned, resulting in severe air pollution. Miscanthus is wild-grown forage grass and can be found in a broad range of growth habitats in Taiwan. This grass contains a great amount of polysaccharides, therefore, along with rice straw can be good candidates for conversion of cellulosic wastes to biomass energy, such as ethanol or hydrogen. In order to accomplish such goal, appropriate microorganisms with effectively decomposition capability for cellulosic substances should be isolated from environment for bioconversion of those agricultural wastes. In particular, thermophilic anaerobes are of most interest since the thermophilic process could increase reaction rate and vanish pathogens. The aim of this sub-project research is to isolate thermophilic anaerobic microorganisms with high cellulolytic activity as well as obligate or facultative anaerobes with high hydrogen-producing capability. Physiological and biochemical characteristics of those isolates will be systematically investigated. Kinetic properties of these isolates for conversion of rice straw and Miscanthus to bioenergy will also be determined. Furthermore, in this sub-project, bioaugmentation of the conversion processes by addition of isolated cellulose-hydrolytic and H2-producing microorganisms, in the form of pure culture or bioagent, will be applied to assess its feasibility in improving the efficiency of bioenergy production from cellulosic feedstock.
