The original meeting with duPont and BP that led to the partnership to develop biobutanol as an advantaged alcohol fuel. Their technology to manufacture PDO from glucose via enzyme pathway management could go toward biobutanol with a few tweaks. Notes and guidance for next steps from Steve Wittrig

1. Meeting Notes
BP/DuPont & Biotech
Date: Jan. 21, 2003
Location: BP New York Office
Objective: Explore areas of possible mutual interest between BP and duPont in the area
of biotechnology.
Attending:
John Ranieri
Vice President and General Manager, DuPont Bio-based Materials
John Pierce
Director, Biochemical Science and Engineering, DuPont Central Research and
Development
Scott Cunningham
New Market Development Manager, DuPont Materials
Scott Nichols
Research Manager, DuPont Central Research and Development - Bioprocess
Development
William (Bill) Frey
Business Director, DuPont Bio-based Materials
Robert Dorsch
Director Biotechnology Business Development, DuPont Bio-based Materials
Bernie Bulkin
Stuart Smith
Chris Mottershead
Jay Kouba
Steve Wittrig

2. Notes:
Overview and General Agenda
(Bill Frey)
Points of discussion from DuPont perspective that might be of interest to BP
PDO/Sorona
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA’s)
DOE Project - Biorefinery
EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery)
Methane Conversion
Fuel Additives
AcOH (Acetic Acid)
ACN (Acrylonitrile)
Hydrogen production
1,3 PDO (1,3 Propanediol)
(Scott Nichols)
3GT – Sorona (new polyester material – “PET” with 1,3 Propanediol instead of ethylene
glycol)
Unique recovery from strain (Less baggy trousers, e.g.)
Holds dye more easily than PET (lower cost finishing, e.g.)
Softer, more appealing feel (preferred carpeting, e.g.)
Fibers, packaging, nonwovens, specialty resins
Homopolymers of PDO (as opposed to polyesters) also have interesting potential
properties
Will probably cannibalize PET and nylon to some extent as well as enhance growth in
general
Economics still not well established
Glucose to Glycerol to 3G
Combine genes from yeast and bacteria to incorporate in E Coli
On the order of 50 modifications to the genome to regulate and balance enzyme
production, metabolic pathways and regulation of general cell metabolism (e.g.,
glycolysis and respiration)
Almost all functionality is incorporated on the chromosome (as opposed to less stable
small plasmids) – organism is relatively stable over time and generations
Discussed as a “tour de force” in genetic engineering of metabolic pathways (obviously, a
biased set of observers for this point of view, but it looked pretty impressive from this
non-expert’s perspective)
This has been a general “learning experience” and development of significant, imbedded
capabilities within DuPont vis a vis genetic engineering, control of metabolic pathways to
produce desired products and scale up. Something they seem quite confident will be

3. transferable to other products (the targets for which they are open to suggestion from
potential partners such as BP).
Close to theoretical yield of 3G from glucose (~50% compared to theoretical 57% based
on carbon in glucose) (loss is to CO2)
Process developments in prospect
Enhance kinetics
Continuous process (longer term)
B12 recovery
B12 is a cofactor in final step and is a cost issue (work on reducing requirements)
B12 is used in “process control” (introduced at the end of the fermentation to allow cell
growth and accumulation of intermediates during the early stages of the cycle.)
(TSW note – This area (i.e., possible target molecules of interest to BP) is perhaps a place
for some idea development within BP now that there is some better understanding of the
capabilities being developed in metabolic pathway engineering. Obviously an iterative
process of discussions back and forth with interludes of reflection, but it seems to me
there are recent developments in these areas that may be positioned to move beyond
dreamy cellulose-to-ethanol or small scale specialty pharmaceuticals. No case for action
yet maybe, but perhaps worthy of more active monitoring.)
Biological routes to polymers
PHA’s as an example
(naturally occurring as well as genetically engineered/enhanced)
Polymer occurs in nature as energy storage when the organism is nitrogen or phosphorus
limited.
PHA Properties
Thermoplastic, moldable, films, injection moldable, biodegradable
Still looking for market (Does the world need another commodity thermoplastic?)
Metabolix – up to 90% dry weight
(TSW note – Somewhat interesting point. No mention of Metabolix aspiration/DOE
program to transplant this capability from bacteria/fermentation into plants (i.e., grow and
harvest plastics internally in switchgrass and use that as a feed to a “biorefinery”). If my
understanding is correct, this type of thing was an aspiration at DuPont in recent years
that has been scaled back.)
Current players
Metabolix (significant IP, composition of matter, manufacturing via fermentation, R&D)
Kaneka- mixed monomer production
In Sales

4. P&G
ChiroBio
New company with access to Sang Yup Lee (one of world’s foremost experts)
This general area (i.e., polymer production in situ in biological systems) didn’t appear to
be an area of active interest for DuPont right now. Maybe I missed it. I perceived they
were just discussing the topic to bring us up to date on this particular potential area for
biotech. (Perhaps something they could get interested in if it was something that we
seemed particularly excited about.)
DOE Program – Integrated Corn-based Biorefinery (ICBR)
(Bob Dorsch)
Target – technology for economically viable, very clean production of fuel ethanol and
added value chemicals from renewable raw materials base
Partners - DuPont, Diversa, NREL, John Deere, Michigan State University
4 years, $38 MM
Fits with general DuPont corporate goals – 10% of energy needs derived from renewable
sources, 25% revenues not relying on non sustainable raw materials (TSW – I’m not sure
I got the exact wording of that last one. A lot of the “wiggle” room on that one seems to
be that they want to move more toward intellectual content, licensing, consulting as a
larger part of the revenue base.)
ICBR (Below is the easiest representation in text form of the “three – line” schematic that
Bob presented for the Biorefinery that generated so much discussion of the analogies to
the growth, technology development and integrated nature of today’s oil refineries from
the original distillation plants of the early 20th century.)
Grain – milled – Starch hydrolysis – Ferment/separate – PDO
Stover – pretreat – enzyme hydrolysis to mixed sugars – Ferment/separate – fuel ethanol
Boiler
Don’t have to push purities as hard (e.g., can degrade sugars from line 1 to line 2 and still
produce “fuel grade ethanol”, can degrade unconverted cellulose, lignin, pentoses, etc.
from line 2 to line 3 to recover energy and steam, etc.)
John Pierce brought up the concept of the potential of very low cost ethanol as a possible
source of ethylene (TSW note – One of my pet ideas – portable, storable, “break the large
scale paradigm” ethylene – so I couldn’t resist sticking it in here.)

5. DuPont business model for ICBR development – invent and license the enabling
technologies (as well as presumably take off and sell higher value products such as 1,3
PDO and polymers?)
There was also a chart that I didn’t capture the details of showing nominal returns (and
potential improvement in life cycle benefits) from ICBR making PDO and EtOH
compared to separate plants making both products. As I recall, a 2% return for separate
plants and 20% return for ICBR (albeit based on some fairly “hopeful” assumptions
about the maintenance of government subsidies for fuel ethanol (and somewhat off the
point of the defined target of “economically viable”.))
Glucose to AcOH ?? Some discussion of this with Jay providing insight that AcOH is a
natural byproduct of cellulose to ethanol and, alternatively, it is much more likely to be
economic to convert product ethanol to AcOH at the end of a biomass to ethanol process
than to try to divert some of the glucose to AcOH in the fermentation and have to
separate the AcOH from a dilute aqueous solution.
Bioconversion speculations on nitriles
ACN?? A brief discussion based on the fact that BP asked if there were any thoughts
from DuPont since it is one of our products. No particular ideas of interest here.
Overall, the integrated systems (the “whatever” refinery) approach is as intriguing for
biomass as in the other general cases the world is interested (gas-based, coal-based) for
the same reasons. Economy of scale in raw material procurement and initial conversion
step (sugar production from biomass, reforming, gasification respectively). Shared
offsites, utilities and waste handling. Obviate need for purification, packaging, storage
and work in process inventory for intermediates. Energy/Exergy optimization from
steam and power integration.
The introduction of superbugs to produce actual higher value products of some
significant scale (e.g., PDO with perhaps more to come) is one more arrow in the quiver
for the “carbohydrate” refinery. In my opinion, worth some additional conversations (if
not with DuPont, at least with partners of choosing.) Would be good to get some kind of
expert assessment of where DuPont and this group really stand relative to their
competitors (leviathan as well as “tiny/new to the “ecosystem” /hungry”).
Microbial Methane Utilization and H2 production
Products from methanotrophs
Specialty Chemicals, Pigments, proteins, Isoprenoids – specialty chemicals, etc.

6. DuPont technology assets in C1
 Microbial strains
 Developed genetic engineering
 Bioprocess development experience
 Engineered pathways
 IP
What products make sense from methane
 Materials that are naturally made with high yield from methanotrophs
 Materials produced from abundant methanotrophic intermediates (aromatics,
isoprenoids)
 Highly reduced with low O2 content
 High volume chemicals
 High value protein co-products
Advantages to C1 biomanufacturing
 Strategic choice of substrate
 Value from flare gas
 Containment and safety of GMO methanotrophs
 Freedom to operate based on comprehensive estate in C-1 biotech
 Biomass fractions as co-products
Discussion here centered on a few major points
Have you thought of using MeOH as the starting point? Some speculation there that bugs
can do very interesting and unique things and there might be some very interesting
products if you didn’t saddle the bug with the upfront requirement to break into methane
in some way that isn’t total oxidation.
General methanol economics – headed lower and lower – almost no conceivable way that
biotech will beat conventional routes to methanol at large stranded gas sites. Possible
uses (maybe?) for situations requiring low volume, low capital methane conversion (e.g.,
GHG reduction for flare reduction, landfill methane, coal bed methane). Even that is a
big stretch.
Didn’t seem to me to be much here that was new or potential game changer in fuels or
large volume chemicals.
Bioprocess for H2 from Crude Sugars
Crude sugars – non-photosynthetic anaerobic bacteria – H2
Goals – irreversible H2 production, Yield gt 30% of H2 available in glucose
High rate of production
Nothing here I could see (or anybody else as far as I could discern).

7. Fuel Additives
(Bill Frey)
Cellulosic biomass with ethanol – Alcoholysis (acid catalyst) – formate and novel esters
Discussion of esters as blending components. General BP experience. Initial screening
tests are not expensive (octane and RVP), but it’s a long process to actually get fuel
blending components that are totally new into the system.
Hydrophobic is desirable (for distribution and for containing plumes from spills/leaks).
Unlikely target for biologically derived molecules.
Triptane as an example of a desired molecule.
No particular ideas here, but they may come up with some proposals.
Using tools of modern biology to enhance oil recovery
(Scott Cunningham)
Oil recovery is inherently inefficient
Logistical solutions – field management
EOR – water, heat, steam, solvents, polymers, micellular agents, surfactants, microbes,
nutrients…
Biology has a role in oil recovery today
Microbes exist in/and around the oil reservoir and affect oil recovery (both plus and
minus)
Premise:
No biologically derived material has ever been selected or optimized to enhance oil
recovery.
New tools and methods available that could help
Microbial products that might be useful in some aspect or another of oil recovery (in situ
and ex-situ) (actually an interesting table that I wasn’t able to totally transcribe)
Acids
Biomass
Gases
Solvents
Surfactants
Polymers
Examples
Microbe production of novel surfactants
(many microbes produce surfactants, none are optimized for oil recovery)

8. Idea – designer surfactant
Typically could screen 1-25 phenotypes a week, now a billion times more
Select substrate binders from 10**8 genotypes (selection by whatever hangs around after
a water wash on the mineral sample of interest)
Essentially, very efficient high throughput experimentation to tailor specific surface
activity for binding to minerals in a particular well and then attaching other functionality
to those binders. Looked like something that could be feasibility tested in their labs fairly
easily.
Appeared to be enough interest on both sides to pursue to the next stage of discussions
among experts.
Proteins can be made selective to particular faces of specific minerals and can “catalyze”
crystal reconstruction or other reactions
Calcium carbonate
(I didn’t quite catch all of this, but it also looked worthy of some more brainstorming
with some rock and reservoir guys for potential ideas.)
Other areas that were covered very quickly
Hydrocolloids – none optimized for EOR
Starches
Celluloses
Hemicelluloses
Chitin
Biotech to generate proprietary carbohydrates with differing properties (viscosity, gel
formation, stability)
Significant discussion on surface active agents for downhole applications (and drag
reducers in pipelines)
This seemed to be in general one of the most promising specific areas for follow up
discussion.
Summing up
Opened up new possibilities
Biorefinery
EOR
New metabolic pathway engineering
What are the game changers?
ACTION ITEM: Bernie will contact John Ranieri after BP internal discussions for
proposal of follow up.