On the high-throughput bacterial strain screening automation platform, the robotic arm performs microbial inoculation on the orifice plate; the researchers debugged the shaker, and the liquid in dozens of fermentation bottles oscillated back and forth... Walking into the laboratory of the National Energy Biorefining R&D Center of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, it was a busy scene.

"From a 30 ml fermentation bottle in the laboratory, to a 3 liter fermentation tank, and to a 1-ton large tank on the pilot platform, the larger the container used in the experiment, the closer the research is to industrial applications." Cao Hui, professor at the School of Life Sciences and Technology of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, said that the team has made major breakthroughs in the preparation technology of biological adipic acid in recent times, and is expected to continue to verify in the "big tank" this year.

Adipic acid is a basic chemical raw material with a wide range of industrial uses, such as the manufacture of common nylon materials. The biggest advantage of biological preparation of adipic acid is that the raw materials are renewable and the production process is clean and efficient, which helps the industry to transform green and low-carbon.

When I chose this topic more than two years ago, the team members felt it was "difficult" and "difficult to do".

Why is it difficult? "The preparation of adipic acid by biological method has been studied abroad for many years, but has not made substantial progress. There is no ready-made experience to refer to." said Li Menglei, a team member and a 2022 doctoral student at the School of Life Sciences and Technology. But the team does not want to engage in homogeneous research and wants to explore the "no man's land" in the forefront of science and technology.

Independently develop technology, build an automation platform, and virtualize digital microorganisms on the server... The team uses artificial intelligence technology to simulate biological reaction processes. "This greatly improves the efficiency of the experiment and reduces possible errors in the research," said Cao Hui. In recent years, the R&D center has targeted major national development needs and the forefront of industrial technology, achieved a number of research results, and successfully applied technologies such as bio-prepared fuel ethanol and succinic acid for industrial application, and will cooperate with enterprises to conduct larger-scale pilot projects in the future.

"In fact, the school has already had winter vacation, but because of the opportunity to go to the 'big jar' this year, everyone is holding it back!" Li Menglei was also staring in the laboratory like other members of the team.

"We attach importance to the original innovation breakthrough from 'from 0 to 1', and also pay attention to the transformation of 'from 1 to infinity', so that more scientific and technological innovation achievements can be out of the laboratory and applied, and provide more support for cultivating and developing new quality productivity." Cao Hui said.