Research

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15 pages, 2266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessment of a Small-Scale Integrated Biorefinery for Butyric-Acid Production in Chile

by Andrés Suazo, Fidel Tapia, Germán Aroca and Julián Quintero

Fermentation 2024, 10(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10010001 - 19 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1144

This study evaluates the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of a small-scale biorefinery in Chile’s La Araucanía Region, which utilizes wheat straw as feedstock to produce butyric acid using Clostridium tyrobutyricum. Two scenarios were considered; the standalone wheat straw biorefinery and its integration [...] Read more.

This study evaluates the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of a small-scale biorefinery in Chile’s La Araucanía Region, which utilizes wheat straw as feedstock to produce butyric acid using Clostridium tyrobutyricum. Two scenarios were considered; the standalone wheat straw biorefinery and its integration with the anaerobic digestion of pig manure for biogas production, coupled with a cogeneration system, using the xylo-oligosaccharides and lignin obtained in the pretreatment. The simulations were carried out using Aspen Plus, while the Aspen Process Economic Analyzer was used to perform the economic evaluation. The simulation results were validated with experimental data from the literature. An economic assessment was performed considering the different processes involved. A cradle-to-gate life-cycle analysis (LCA) was also applied to evaluate the different environmental impacts. Both studied scenarios were economically feasible, with the highest butyric acid production cost being USD 2.97/kg_butyricacid; however, this value is still higher compared to corn-based biorefineries. Annexed biogas production increased the costs and was less economically attractive. Nonetheless, the integrations with biogas production had lower environmental impacts, except in the photochemical oxidant formation category, which was higher because of the combustion gases obtained by the cogeneration system. A lower carbon footprint (23.5 kg CO₂-eq_. per ton of wheat straw) was obtained for the scenario including biogas production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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17 pages, 2376 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Metabolic Difference Analysis of Clostridium cellulovorans Grown on Glucose and Cellulose

by Wen-Zhu Tang, Dan-Dan Jiang, Yi-Xuan Fan, Quan Zhang, Li-Cheng Liu, Fu-Li Li and Zi-Yong Liu

Fermentation 2023, 9(4), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9040321 - 23 Mar 2023

Viewed by 1303

Abstract

As an anaerobic butyrate-producing bacterium, Clostridium cellulovorans can secrete a variety of extracellular enzymes to degrade plant-based cellulose. However, with glucose as the carbon source, it still secretes a large amount of protein in the broth. The metabolism and regulation are obscure and need [...] Read more.

As an anaerobic butyrate-producing bacterium, Clostridium cellulovorans can secrete a variety of extracellular enzymes to degrade plant-based cellulose. However, with glucose as the carbon source, it still secretes a large amount of protein in the broth. The metabolism and regulation are obscure and need to be further studied. Hence, in this study, C. cellulovorans was used to conduct fed-batch fermentation of glucose and microcrystalline at pH 7.0 to produce a higher level of butyrate in the bioreactor. It produced 16.8 mM lactate, 22.3 mM acetate, and 132.7 mM butyrate in 72 h during glucose fermentation. In contrast, it produced only 11.5 mM acetate and 93.9 mM butyrate and took 192 h to complete the fermentation with cellulose as the carbon source. Furthermore, there was no lactate detected in the broth. The analysis of carbon source balance and redox balance showed that 57% of the glucose was consumed to form acids in glucose fermentation, while only 47% of the cellulose was used for acid generation in the cellulose fermentation. Meanwhile, a large amount of protein was detected in the fermentation broth in both glucose (0.9 ± 0.1 g/L) and cellulose (1.1 ± 0.2 g/L) fermentation. These results showed that protein was also a main product. C. cellulovorans metabolized glucose to generate intermediate metabolites and reducing powers (NADH and Fd_red), then protein and acid synthesis consumed this reducing power to maintain the carbon source balance and redox balance in the cell metabolism. The results of comparative transcriptomics and comparative proteomics also supported the above conclusion. The method of studying the protein during Clostridium species fermentation provides a new perspective for further study on metabolic regulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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12 pages, 2214 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Camellia oleifera Shell Biochar as a Robust Adsorbent for Aqueous Mercury Removal

by Fenglin Chen, Nianfang Ma, Guo Peng, Weiting Xu, Yanlei Zhang, Fei Meng, Qinghua Huang, Biao Hu, Qingfu Wang, Xinhong Guo, Peng Cheng and Liqun Jiang

Fermentation 2023, 9(3), 295; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9030295 - 18 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1365

Abstract

Camellia oleifera fruit shell (COS) is an agricultural waste product generated in large quantities by the seed oil extraction industry. Due to its hierarchical thickness structure, COS shows huge potential in constructing porous carbon materials after thermal chemical modification. Herein, a series of [...] Read more.

Camellia oleifera fruit shell (COS) is an agricultural waste product generated in large quantities by the seed oil extraction industry. Due to its hierarchical thickness structure, COS shows huge potential in constructing porous carbon materials after thermal chemical modification. Herein, a series of COS biochars were synthesized by a carbonization-activation process and achieved excellent mercury removal performance in an aqueous environment. High-temperature carbonization was found to facilitate lignin removal and porosity generation, while retaining hydroxyl and carbonyl groups available for mercury adsorption. A volume of micropores of 594 × 10⁻³ cm⁻³/g with average pore diameter of 1.7 nm was achieved in activated COS biochar. At 550 °C, an adsorption capacity of 57.6 mg/g was realized in 1 mg/L Hg²⁺ solution under different pH environments. This work provides an alternative adsorbent for removing hazardous materials using sustainable bioresources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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16 pages, 2061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Conversion of Biomass-Derived Levulinic Acid into γ-Valerolactone Using Methanesulfonic Acid: An Optimization Study Using Response Surface Methodology

by Lethiwe Debra Mthembu, Rishi Gupta, Farai Dziike, David Lokhat and Nirmala Deenadayalu

Fermentation 2023, 9(3), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9030288 - 15 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1511

Abstract

γ-Valerolactone (GVL) is a platform chemical for the synthesis of both biofuels and biochemicals. The LA production from depithed sugarcane bagasse (DSB) resulted in a 55% LA yield, and the resulting LA was used to produce GVL. The effect of process parameters, namely, [...] Read more.

γ-Valerolactone (GVL) is a platform chemical for the synthesis of both biofuels and biochemicals. The LA production from depithed sugarcane bagasse (DSB) resulted in a 55% LA yield, and the resulting LA was used to produce GVL. The effect of process parameters, namely, temperature (25–200 °C), time (2–10 h), and catalyst loading (0.5–5 g) were investigated for the GVL production from LA. Thereafter, the optimized conditions were used to produce GVL from LA derived from depithed sugarcane bagasse (DSB) yielded a GVL of 77.6%. The hydrogen required for the reduction of LA to GVL was formed in situ by formic acid and triethylamine in the presence of methanesulfonic acid (MsOH). Different solvents (including water and alcohols) were also tested to determine their effect on GVL yield, and water yielded the highest GVL of 78.6%. Different types of catalysts, which included mineral acids and ionic liquids, were used to determine their effect on GVL yield, and to provide a benchmark against MsOH. The GVL yield from DSB-derived LA is 1.0% lower than the GVL yield from a commercial sample of LA. LA generated from DSB has the potential to replace fossil fuel-derived LA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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13 pages, 2714 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Second Generation Bioethanol Production from Soybean Hulls Pretreated with Imidazole as a New Solvent

by Verônica Sayuri Nishida, Adenise Lorenci Woiciechowski, Kim Kley Valladares-Diestra, Luis Alberto Zevallos Torres, Luciana Porto de Souza Vandenberghe, Arion Zandoná Filho and Carlos Ricardo Soccol

Fermentation 2023, 9(2), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9020093 - 20 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1771

Abstract

Soybean hulls (SH) are the main industrial waste from soybean processing, representing 5–8% of the whole grain. Imidazole was employed for the hydrothermal pretreatment of SH and further bioethanol production. Different pretreatment temperatures (120 and 180 °C) and times (1 and 3 h) [...] Read more.

Soybean hulls (SH) are the main industrial waste from soybean processing, representing 5–8% of the whole grain. Imidazole was employed for the hydrothermal pretreatment of SH and further bioethanol production. Different pretreatment temperatures (120 and 180 °C) and times (1 and 3 h) were tested. Lignin removal and glucose yield were significantly influenced by temperature. After 48 h of enzymatic hydrolysis of imidazole-treated SH (120 °C, 1 h), 32.7 g/L of glucose and 9.4 g/L of xylose were obtained. A maximum bioethanol yield of 78.9% was reached after 12 h of fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae using SH enzymatic hydrolysate. Imidazole appears to be a potential alternative to pretreat lignocellulosic wastes such as SH for the production of second-generation biofuels and other biomolecules. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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10 pages, 1883 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cell Wall Glycan Changes in Different Brachypodium Tissues Give Insights into Monocot Biomass

by Utku Avci

Fermentation 2023, 9(1), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9010052 - 08 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1878

Abstract

The annual temperate grass Brachypodium distachyon has become a model system for monocot biomass crops and for understanding lignocellulosic recalcitrance to employ better saccharification and fermentation approaches. It is a monocot plant used to study the grass cell walls that differ from the [...] Read more.

The annual temperate grass Brachypodium distachyon has become a model system for monocot biomass crops and for understanding lignocellulosic recalcitrance to employ better saccharification and fermentation approaches. It is a monocot plant used to study the grass cell walls that differ from the cell walls of dicot plants such as the eudicot model Arabidopsis. The B. distachyon cell wall is predominantly composed of cellulose, arabinoxylans, and mixed-linkage glucans, and it resembles the cell walls of other field grasses. It has a vascular bundle anatomy similar to C3 grasses. These features make Brachypodium an ideal model to study cell walls. Cell walls are composed of polymers with complex structures that vary between cell types and at different developmental stages. Antibodies that recognize specific cell wall components are currently one of the most effective and specific molecular probes to determine the location and distribution of polymers in plant cell walls in situ. Here, we investigated the glycan distribution in the cell walls of the root and leaf tissues of Brachypodium by employing cell-wall-directed antibodies against diverse glycan epitopes. There are distinct differences in the presence of the epitopes between the root and leaf tissues as well as in the cell type level, which gives insights into monocot biomass. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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10 pages, 1809 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Formic Acid to Promote Bacterial Cellulose Production and Analysis of Its Material Properties for Food Packaging Applications

by Tzu-Yu Chen, Shella Permatasari Santoso and Shin-Ping Lin

Fermentation 2022, 8(11), 608; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8110608 - 04 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1471

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a microbial cellulose that presents various characteristics such as high mechanical strength, high water content, and great biocompatibility and biodegradability. Therefore, it provides great potential to be applied in functional packaging applications. In this study, formic acid (80 µg/mL) [...] Read more.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a microbial cellulose that presents various characteristics such as high mechanical strength, high water content, and great biocompatibility and biodegradability. Therefore, it provides great potential to be applied in functional packaging applications. In this study, formic acid (80 µg/mL) was found to promote BC production (a 23% increase in yield from 5.18 to 6.38 g/L) utilizing quorum sensing-related gene (ginI) induction within 5 days of cultivation. The enhancement in BC relied on the addition of FA in static culture, and there was no need to shift to another production system, thus providing an economical approach for industrial production. The characteristic analysis showed that the induced BC still retained its high water-holding capacity (98.4%) with no other structure, morphology, or property changes including chemical groups, crystallinity (80.4%), and thermostability (with T_max at 360 °C). Analysis of the produced BC showed that it is a suitable, ecofriendly biomaterial for food packaging, and its further evaluation will be accomplished in future studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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15 pages, 1437 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Alternative to Vermiculite: Composting on Tropical Islands Using Coral Sand to Enhance Nitrogen Retention during Ventilation

by Peng Cheng, Liqun Jiang, Rui Shan, Zhen Fang, Nianfang Ma, Lianwu Deng, Yaoquan Lu, Xiangping Tan, Weijun Shen and Rongrong Liu

Fermentation 2022, 8(10), 552; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8100552 - 18 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1660

Abstract

Reducing nitrogen loss during composting with forced ventilation was comprehensively investigated in this study. Coral sand was tailored in the co-composting in the co-composting of sludge and litters. The physicochemical results revealed that forced ventilation prolonged the thermophilic phase and accelerated the substrate [...] Read more.

Reducing nitrogen loss during composting with forced ventilation was comprehensively investigated in this study. Coral sand was tailored in the co-composting in the co-composting of sludge and litters. The physicochemical results revealed that forced ventilation prolonged the thermophilic phase and accelerated the substrate decomposition. With the addition of 10% native coral sand, the amount of nitrogen loss decreased by 9.2% compared with the original group. The microbial community evaluation revealed that the effect of forced ventilation on colony abundance was significantly greater than that of adding coral sand. This study demonstrated that when composting on a tropical island, adding coral sand under forced ventilation was a viable solution for realizing sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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12 pages, 1456 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pilot Scale for Production and Purification of Lactic Acid from Ceratonia siliqua L. (Carob) Bagasse

by Hassan Azaizeh, Hiba Nazmi Abu Tayeh, Roland Schneider and Joachim Venus

Fermentation 2022, 8(9), 424; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8090424 - 27 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1790

Abstract

The bioconversion of lignocellulose and organic waste bagasse to lactic acid (LA) is an important alternative process requiring valorization as a potentially viable method in the production of pure LA, to be utilized for various purposes. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) biomass was [...] Read more.

The bioconversion of lignocellulose and organic waste bagasse to lactic acid (LA) is an important alternative process requiring valorization as a potentially viable method in the production of pure LA, to be utilized for various purposes. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) biomass was used for the production of LA, using a thermophilic Bacillus coagulans isolate, cultivated in a batch pilot scale of 35 L fermenters without yeast extract supplementation, and operated for 50 h. During the fermentation process, most of the degradable sugar was consumed within 35 h and resulted in the production of 46.9 g/L LA, with a calculated LA yield of 0.72 g/g sugars and productivity at the log phase of 1.69 g/L/h. The use of LA for different industrial applications requires high purity; therefore, a downstream process (DSP) consisting of different purification stages was used, enabling us to reach up to 99.9% (w/w) product purity, which indicates that the process was very effective. The overall almost pure L-LA yield of the DSP was 56%, which indicates that a considerable amount of LA (46%) was lost during the different DSP stages. This is the first study in which carob biomass bagasse has been tested on a pilot scale for LA production, showing the industrial feasibility of the fermentation process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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Review

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12 pages, 838 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advance in Heterologous Expression of Biomass-Degrading Auxiliary Activity 10 Family of Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenases

by Hongyu Zhang, Zixuan Zhou, Tingting Lou, Rong Xiang, Deguang Zhang, Danyun Wang and Suying Wang

Fermentation 2023, 9(9), 795; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9090795 - 28 Aug 2023

Viewed by 796

Abstract

AA10 family lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (AA10 LPMOs) are mainly distributed in bacteria. Because of their characteristics of oxidative degradation of crystalline polysaccharides, such as cellulose and chitin, they have great application potential in industrial biomass conversion and have attracted wide attention. Efficient heterologous [...] Read more.

AA10 family lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (AA10 LPMOs) are mainly distributed in bacteria. Because of their characteristics of oxidative degradation of crystalline polysaccharides, such as cellulose and chitin, they have great application potential in industrial biomass conversion and have attracted wide attention. Efficient heterologous expression of LPMOs by recombinant engineering bacteria has become the main strategy for the industrial production of enzymes. The research progress of AA10 LPMOs’ heterologous expression systems was reviewed in this paper. The construction strategies of its diversified heterologous expression system were introduced based on the design and processing of the expression host, vector, and LPMOs gene. The effects of different expression systems on the soluble expression of LPMOs and the development direction of the construction of LPMOs’ heterologous expression systems were discussed. The broad application prospect of LPMOs in the biomass conversion and biofuel industry has been prospected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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15 pages, 1623 KiB

Open AccessReview

Glycoside Hydrolase Family 48 Cellulase: A Key Player in Cellulolytic Bacteria for Lignocellulose Biorefinery

by Cai You, Ya-Jun Liu, Qiu Cui and Yingang Feng

Fermentation 2023, 9(3), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9030204 - 21 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1721

Abstract

Cellulases from glycoside hydrolase family 48 (GH48) are critical components of natural lignocellulose-degrading systems. GH48 cellulases are broadly distributed in cellulolytic microorganisms. With the development of genomics and metatranscriptomics, diverse GH48 genes have been identified, especially in the highly efficient cellulose-degrading ruminal system. [...] Read more.

Cellulases from glycoside hydrolase family 48 (GH48) are critical components of natural lignocellulose-degrading systems. GH48 cellulases are broadly distributed in cellulolytic microorganisms. With the development of genomics and metatranscriptomics, diverse GH48 genes have been identified, especially in the highly efficient cellulose-degrading ruminal system. GH48 cellulases utilize an inverting mechanism to hydrolyze cellulose in a processive mode. Although GH48 cellulases are indispensable for cellulolytic bacteria, they exhibit intrinsically low cellulolytic activity. Great efforts have been made to improve their performance. Besides, GH48 cellulases greatly synergize with the complementary endoglucanases in free cellulase systems or cellulosome systems. In this review, we summarized the studies on the diversity of GH48 cellulases, the crystal structures, the catalytic mechanism, the synergy between GH48 cellulases and endocellulases, and the strategies and progress of GH48 engineering. According to the summarized bottlenecks in GH48 research and applications, we suggest that future studies should be focused on mining and characterizing new GH48 enzymes, thoroughly understanding the progressive activity and product inhibition, engineering GH48 enzymes to improve stability, activity, and stress resistance, and designing and developing new biocatalytic system employing the synergies between GH48 and other enzymes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Valorization in Biorefinery)

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