ArticleFrontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology2022
Methane Single Cell Protein: Potential to Secure a Global Protein Supply Against Catastrophic Food Shocks.
Article in Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Recent Advances in Sustainable Yeast-Based Single-Cell Protein Production from Renewable Substrates Using Engineering Approaches.Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Review
- The potential of syngas as a central mediator for a carbon-agnostic circular economy.Nature communications · 2026Review
- No Place to Hide? Regional Resilience and Vulnerability to Global Catastrophic Risk.Global challenges (Hoboken, NJ) · 2026Review
- Navigating adoption barriers for microbial proteins in future food.Nature communications · 2026Review
- Contribution of C1 Biotechnology to the Achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Simultaneous co-cultivation of the thermoacidophilic methanotroph,Engineering microbiology · 2025Article
- Thermotolerant yeasts promoting climate-resilient bioproduction.FEMS yeast research · 2025Review
- Recent advances and challenges in single cell protein (SCP) technologies for food and feed production.NPJ science of food · 2024Review
- Review
- The Fragile State of Industrial Agriculture: Estimating Crop Yield Reductions in a Global Catastrophic Infrastructure Loss Scenario.Global challenges (Hoboken, NJ) · 2024Article
- Growing in Saltwater: Biotechnological Potential of NovelMicroorganisms · 2023Article
- Nitrogen recovery from low-value biogenic feedstocks via steam gasification to methylotrophic yeast biomass.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2023Article
- Management of Enteric Methane Emissions in Ruminants Using Feed Additives: A Review.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Global catastrophes such as a supervolcanic eruption, asteroid impact, or nuclear winter could cause global agricultural collapse due to reduced sunlight reaching the Earth's surface. The human civilization's food production system is unprepared to respond to such events, but methane single cell protein (SCP) could be a key part of the solution. Current preparedness centers around food stockpiling, an excessively expensive solution given that an abrupt sunlight reduction scenario (ASRS) could hamper conventional agriculture for 5-10 years. Instead, it is more cost-effective to consider resilient food production techniques requiring little to no sunlight. This study analyses the potential of SCP produced from methane (natural gas and biogas) as a resilient food source for global catastrophic food shocks from ASRS. The following are quantified: global production potential of methane SCP, capital costs, material and energy requirements, ramp-up rates, and retail prices. In addition, potential bottlenecks for fast deployment are considered. While providing a more valuable, protein-rich product than its alternatives, the production capacity could be slower to ramp up. Based on 24/7 construction of facilities, 7%-11% of the global protein requirements could be fulfilled at the end of the first year. Despite significant remaining uncertainties, methane SCP shows significant potential to prevent global protein starvation during an ASRS at an affordable price-US$3-5/kg dry.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.