Singaporean researchers hit the jackpot with GM yeast to produce butanol from food waste

In Singapore, researchers from the National University of Singapore have developed a genetically modified a type of Yarrowia lipolytica yeast that can produce butanol from fats in food waste, as much as half the weight of the original feedstock. Ten genes are added to the original yeast to produce the butanol, a process that also reduces CO2 emissions by 75% compared to incineration, requires half as much energy and half as many CO2 emissions as biogasing the food waste would do. Only about 13% of the 785,500 metric tons of food waste produced in the country last year was recycled, which on its own is 30% more than in 2010. About 600,000 tons is incinerated annually.