Installing xylose assimilation and cellodextrin phosphorolysis pathways in obese Yarrowia lipolytica facilitates cost-effective lipid production from lignocellulosic hydrolysates

BACKGROUND

Yarrowia lipolytica, one of the most charming chassis cells in synthetic biology, is unable to use xylose and cellodextrins.

RESULTS

Herein, we present work to tackle for the first time the engineering of Y. lipolytica to produce lipids from cellodextrins and xylose by employing rational and combinatorial strategies. This includes constructing a cellodextrin-phosphorolytic Y. lipolytica by overexpressing Neurospora crassa cellodextrin transporter, Clostridium thermocellum cellobiose/cellodextrin phosphorylase and Saccharomyces cerevisiae phosphoglucomutase. The effect of glucose repression on xylose consumption was relieved by installing a xylose uptake facilitator combined with enhanced PPP pathway and increased cytoplasmic NADPH supply. Further enhancing lipid production and interrupting its consumption conferred the obese phenotype to the engineered yeast. The strain is able to co-ferment glucose, xylose and cellodextrins efficiently, achieving a similar μmax of 0.19 h-1, a qs of 0.34 g-s/g-DCW/h and a YX/S of 0.54 DCW-g/g-s on these substrates, and an accumulation of up to 40% of lipids on the sugar mixture and on wheat straw hydrolysate.

CONCLUSIONS

Therefore, engineering Y. lipolytica capable of assimilating xylose and cellodextrins is a vital step towards a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process of LC biomass, allowing improved substrate conversion rate and reduced production cost due to low demand of external glucosidase.

Energy performance of compressed biomethane gas production from co-digestion of Salix and dairy manure: factoring differences between Salix varieties

Biogas from anaerobic digestion is a versatile energy carrier that can be upgraded to compressed biomethane gas (CBG) as a renewable and sustainable alternative to natural gas. Organic residues and energy crops are predicted to be major sources of bioenergy production in the future. Pre-treatment can reduce the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic energy crops such as Salix to anaerobic digestion, making it a potential biogas feedstock. This lignocellulosic material can be co-digested with animal manure, which has the complementary effect of increasing volumetric biogas yield. Salix varieties exhibit variations in yield, composition and biomethane potential values, which can have a significant effect on the overall biogas production system. This study assessed the impact of Salix varietal differences on the overall mass and energy balance of a co-digestion system using steam pre-treated Salix biomass and dairy manure (DaM) to produce CBG as the final product. Six commercial Salix varieties cultivated under unfertilised and fertilised conditions were compared. Energy and mass flows along this total process chain, comprising Salix cultivation, steam pre-treatment, biogas production and biogas upgrading to CBG, were evaluated. Two scenarios were considered: a base scenario without heat recovery and a scenario with heat recovery. The results showed that Salix variety had a significant effect on energy output-input ratio (R), with R values in the base scenario of 1.57-1.88 and in the heat recovery scenario of 2.36-2.94. In both scenarios, unfertilised var. Tordis was the best energy performer, while the fertilised var. Jorr was the worst. Based on this energy performance, Salix could be a feasible feedstock for co-digestion with DaM, although its R value was at the lower end of the range reported previously for energy crops.

Efficient co-production of reducing sugars and xylooligosaccharides via clean hydrothermal pretreatment of rape straw

Hydrothermal treatment was applied to pretreat rape straw for the efficient co-production of reducing sugars and xylooligosaccharides. It was observed that hydrothermal treatment using water as solvent and catalyst destructed the compact structure of rape straw and increased its enzymatic digestion efficiency from 24.6% to 92.0%. Xylooligosaccharide (3.3 g/L) was acquired after the treatment under 200 °C for 60 min (severity factor Log Ro = 4.7). With increasing pretreatment intensity from 3.1 to 5.4, the hemicellulose removal increased from 14.4% to 100%, and the delignification was raised from 12% to 44%. Various characterization proved that the surface morphology of treated material showed a porous shape, while the cellulose accessibility, lignin surface area and lignin hydrophobicity were greatly improved. Consequently, hydrothermal pretreatment played a vital role in the sustainable transformation of biomass to valuable biobased compounds, and had a wide range of application prospects in lignocellulosic biorefining.

Enzymatic digestibility of lignocellulosic wood biomass: Effect of enzyme treatment in supercritical carbon dioxide and biomass pretreatment

Energy and resource intensive mechanical and chemical pretreatment along with the use of hazardous chemicals are major bottlenecks in widespread lignocellulosic biomass utilization. Herein, the study investigated different pretreatment methods on spruce wood namely supercritical CO2 (scCO2) pretreatment, ultrasound-assisted alkaline pretreatment, and acetosolv pulping-alkaline hydrogen peroxide bleaching, to enhance the enzymatic digestibility of wood using optimized enzyme cocktail. Also, the effect of scCO2 pretreatment on enzyme cocktail was investigated after optimizing the concentration and temperature of cellulolytic enzymes. The impact of scCO2 and ultrasound-assisted alkaline pretreatments of wood were insignificant for the enzymatic digestibility, and acetosolv pulping-alkaline hydrogen peroxide bleaching was the most effective pretreatment that showed the release of total reducing sugar yield (TRS) of ∼95.0 wt% of total hydrolyzable sugars (THS) in enzymatic hydrolysis. The optimized enzyme cocktail showed higher yield than individual enzymes with degree of synergism 1.34 among the enzymes, and scCO2 pretreatment of cocktail for 0.5-1.0 h at 10.0-22.0 MPa and 38.0-54.0 °C had insignificant effect on the enzyme's primary and global secondary structure of cocktail and its activity.

Hydrothermal carbonization of Typha australis: Influence of stirring rate

According to existing literature, there are no conclusive results on the impact of stirring on hydrothermal carbonization (HTC); some studies report a significant impact on the product's properties, while others indicate no influence. This study investigates the influence of stirring rate on several responses and properties of HTC products, including solid mass yield, solid carbon fraction, surface area, surface functional groups, morphology, and the fate of inorganic elements during HTC. Waste biomass was introduced as a feedstock to a 2 L HTC reactor, where the effects of temperature (180-250 °C), residence time (4-12 h), biomass to water (B/W) ratio (1-10%), and stirring rate (0-130 rpm) were investigated. The findings of this study conclusively indicated that the stirring rate does not influence any of the studied responses or properties of hydrochar under the selected experimental conditions used in this study. Nevertheless, the results indicated that a low-stirring rate (5 RPM) is enough to slightly enhanced the heating-up phase of the HTC reactor. For future research, it is recommended to examine the impact of stirring rate on the HTC of other types of biomass using the methodology developed in this study.

Effect of fungal pretreatment by Pycnoporus sanguineus and Trichoderma longibrachiatum on the anaerobic digestion of rice straw

Rice straw is composed of complex lignocellulosic biomass, representing a major obstacle in its conversion to bioenergy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of less explored fungal strains Trichoderma longibrachiatum (TL) and Pycnoporus sanguineus (PS) in improving hydrolysis and bioavailability of rice straw in anaerobic digestion (AD). The fungal treatment of rice straw for 10 days by PS and TL increased biogas production by 20.79% and 17.85% and reduced soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) by 71.43% and 64.70%, respectively. The AD samples containing fungal-treated rice straw showed higher lignocellulolytic enzyme activities contributing to better process performance. The taxonomic profile of microbial communities in treated samples showed increased diversity that could sustain consistent system performance and exhibit enhanced resilience against pH fluctuations. Metagenomic analysis revealed 60.82% increase in Proteobacteria in PS and 11.58% increase in Bacteroidetes in TL-treated rice straw samples resulting in improved hydrolysis.

Aspect elucidation of a physicochemical pretreatment for continuous decrystallization

The purpose of this study is to understand the operating conditions of a physicochemical pretreatment process for lignocellulosic biomass using homogeneous acid catalysts. Four parameters were studied: moisture content, acid catalyst, type of biomass and reactor morphology. The different types of biomass (perennial grasses: sugarcane bagasse, corn stover; flowering plants: cannabis (stalks and leaves); hardwoods (pulp and bark): poplar, sugar maple; softwood bark) were processed in a meat grinder with sulfuric acid. Furthermore, softwood bark was used to change the moisture content, acid catalyst and reactor morphology. Biomass moisture above 17 wt% yielded less than 50 wt% glucose. Sulfuric acid, by far, had the best performance with a 74.5 wt% glucose yield in the meat grinder. The glucose yield showed a direct relationship with the non-carbohydrate components of biomass (lignin, ash, etc).

The isolation of lignin with native-like structure

Searching for renewable alternatives for fossil carbon resources to produce chemicals, fuels and materials is essential for the development of a sustainable society. Lignin, a major component of lignocellulosic biomass, is an abundant renewable source of aromatics and is currently underutilized as it is often burned as an undesired side stream in the production of paper and bioethanol. This lignin harbors great potential as source of high value aromatic chemicals and materials. Biorefinery schemes focused on lignin are currently under development with aim of acquiring added value from lignin. However, the performance of these novel lignin-focused biorefineries is closely linked with the quality of extracted lignin in terms of the level of degradation and modification. Thus, the reactivity including the degradation pathways of the native lignin contained in the plant material needs to be understood in detail to potentially achieve higher value from lignin. Undegraded native-like lignin with an as close as possible structure to native lignin contained in the lignocellulosic plant material serves as a promising model lignin to support detailed studies on the structure and reactivity of native lignin, yielding key understanding for the development of lignin-focused biorefineries. The aim of this review is to highlight the different methods to attain "native-like" lignins that can be valuable for such studies. This is done by giving a basic introduction on what is known about the native lignin structure and the techniques and methods used to analyze it followed by an overview of the fractionation and isolation methods to isolate native-like lignin. Finally, a perspective on the isolation and use of native-like lignin is provided, showing the great potential that this type of lignin brings for understanding the effect of different biomass treatments on the native lignin structure.

Optimization of biomethane production from sweet sorghum bagasse using artificial neural networks combined with particle swarm algorithm

In the face of international movement away from fossil fuels caused pollution menace, many research labs are rushing towards next big breakthrough via effective biorefinery development employing non-edible agro-residues as feedstock. This work aims to evaluate and optimize the methane potential of underutilized full strength sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB) via anaerobic digestion (AD). Biochemical methane potential assays are set up for SSB AD under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions at four substrate-o-inoculum ratios (SIR) 3, 5, 7, and 9 with pH 6.5, 7.5, and 8.5 and with 80, 90, and 100 rpm mixing speed over 50 days. SIR 5 produced the highest cumulative biomethane yield of 4.25 L methane g-1 VS with a shorter lag time of 7.5 days and technical digestion time of 24 days. The influence of physio-chemical parameters on AD process dynamics is supported with 16s rRNA metagenomic sequencing. Based on complete experimental data sets, two artificial neural network (ANN) models are developed to identify the relevant significance of process parameters and to predict bagasse methane potential. Further, the developed ANN model is integrated with particle swarm optimization algorithm to create ideal AD process operating conditions which maximize the target variable, biomethane. The trained and cross-validated ANN-PSO model showed good-fit-accuracy with R2 > 0.995 and demonstrated satisfactory performance in the biomethane yield prediction from AD of non-edible agri-residues.

Recent advances in biorefineries based on lignin extraction using deep eutectic solvents: A review

Considering the urgent need for alternative biorefinery schemes based on sustainable development, this review aims to summarize the state-of-the-art in the use of deep eutectic solvent pretreatment to fractionate lignocellulose, with a focus on lignin recovery. For that, the key parameters influencing the process are discussed, as well as various strategies to enhance this pretreatment efficiency are explored. Moreover, this review describes the challenges and opportunities associated with the valorization of extraction-derived streams and highlights recent advancements in solvent recovery techniques. Furthermore, the utilization of computational models for process design and optimization is introduced, as the initial attempts at the economic and environmental assessment of this lignocellulosic bioprocess based on deep eutectic solvents. Overall, this review offers a comprehensive perspective on the recent advances in this emerging field and serves as a foundation for further research on the potential integration of deep eutectic pretreatment in sustainable multi-product biorefinery schemes.

Co-gasification of rural solid waste and biomass in rural areas: Simulation and plant-scale process

Co-gasification technology is considered to be one of the most potential technologies for solid waste treatment, and the co-gasification treatment of rural solid waste (RSW) and biomass can effectively promote waste reduction and resource utilization. In the present study, the co-gasification of RSW and biomass in an updraft fixed bed gasifier was simulated using the Aspen Plus software, where the simulation results were validated via plant-scale experiments. In this scenario, the impacts of biomass source (i.e., rice husk, rice straw, tree bark and corn straw), co-gasification ratio (CGR) (0-40%) and air equivalence ratio (AER) (0.30-0.55) on the performance of the fixed-bed were investigated. Results showed that Aspen Plus could describe the plant-scale co-gasification process well. Besides, the tree bark-RSW system had the highest heat conversion efficiency of 6.00 MJ/kg the simulation temperature of the gasification layer increased greatly from 485 to 913 °C when the AER increased from 0.40 to 0.55. In addition, the co-gasification of RSW and tree bark could achieve the highest efficiency at the AER of 0.45 and CGR of 20% w, in which the gasification temperature reached 799 °C with the gasification efficiency of 57.17%. This study explored the use of co-gasification of RSW and biomass in rural areas by simulation and plant-scale processes, which promotes the commercial application of co-gasification technology and contributes to sustainable waste management in rural areas.

Facile pretreatment strategies to biotransform Kans grass into nanocatalyst, cellulolytic enzymes, and fermentable sugars towards sustainable biorefinery applications

The present investigation is targeted towards the facile fabrication of a carbon-based nanocatalyst (CNCs) using Kans grass biomass (KGB) and its sustainable application in microbial cellulase enhancement for the alleviation of enzymatic hydrolysis for sugar production. Different pretreatments, including physical, KGB extract-mediated treatment, followed by KOH pretreatment, have been applied to produce CNCs using KGB. The presence of CNCs influences the pretreatment of KGB substrate, fungal cellulase production, stability, and sugar recovery in the enzymatic hydrolysis of KGB. Using 1.0% CNCs pretreated KGB-based solid-state fermentation, 33 U/gds FPA and 126 U/gds BGL were obtained at 72 h, followed by 107 U/gds EG at 48 h in the presence of 0.5% CNCs. Further, 42 °C has been identified as the optimum temperature for cellulase production, while the enzyme showed thermal stability at 50 °C up to 20 h and produced 38.4 g/L sugar in 24 h through enzymatic hydrolysis of KGB.

Oxidative Machinery of basidiomycetes as potential enhancers in lignocellulosic biorefineries: A lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases approach

Basidiomycetes are renowned as highly effective decomposers of plant materials, due to their extensive array of oxidative enzymes, which enable them to efficiently break down complex lignocellulosic biomass structures. Among the oxidative machinery of industrially relevant basidiomycetes, the role of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMO) in lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction is highlighted. So far, only a limited number of basidiomycetes LPMOs have been identified and heterologously expressed. These LPMOs have presented activity on cellulose and hemicellulose, as well as participation in the deconstruction of lignin. Expanding on this, the current review proposes both enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms of LPMOs for biomass conversion, considering the significance of the Carbohydrate-Binding Modules and other C-terminal regions domains associated with their structure, which is involved in the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass.

Microbial co-cultures for biochemicals production from lignocellulosic biomass: A review

Global reliance on fossil oil should shift to cleaner alternatives to get a decarbonized society. One option to achieve this ambitious goal is the use of biochemicals produced from lignocellulosic biomass (LCB). The inherent low biodegradability of LCB and the inhibitory compounds that might be released during pretreatment are two main challenges for LCB valorization. At microbiological level, constraints are mostly linked to the need for axenic cultures and the preference for certain carbon sources (i.e., glucose). To cope with these issues, this review focuses on efficient LCB conversion via the sugar platform as well as an innovative carboxylate platform taking advantage of the co-cultivation of microorganisms. This review discusses novel trends in the use of microbial communities and co-cultures aiming at different bioproducts co-generation in single reactors as well as in sequential bioprocess combination. The outlook and further perspectives of these alternatives have been outlined for future successful development.

Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates as a feasible alternative for an integrated multiproduct lignocellulosic biorefinery

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are considered an alternative to fossil fuel-based plastics. However, in spite of their interesting properties and their multiple applications, PHAs have not taken off as an industrial development. The reason is mainly due to the associated high-production costs, which represent a significant constraint. In recent years, the interest in lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) derived from crop, forestry or municipal waste by-products has been growing, since LCB is plentiful, cheap, renewable and sustainable. On this matter, the valorization of LCB into PHAs represents a promising route within circular economy strategies. However, much effort still needs to be made to improve the bioconversion yields and to enhance PHA production efficiency. So, this review focuses on reviewing the different options for PHA synthesis from LCB, stressing the progress in biomass deconstruction, enzymatic hydrolysis and microbial conversion. In addition, some of the current biological strategies for improving the process of bioconversion are discussed.

Enhanced fermentable sugar production in lignocellulosic biorefinery by exploring a novel corn stover and configuring high-solid pretreatment conditions

This study aimed to produce enhanced fermentable sugars from a novel stover system through the bioprocessing of its soluble sugars and insoluble carbohydrates. The pretreatment conditions were optimized for this high sugar-containing stover (HSS) to control inhibitor formation and obtain enhanced fermentable sugar concentrations. The optimum temperature, acid loading, and reaction time for the pretreatment were 155 °C, 0.5%, and 30 min, respectively, providing up to 97.15% sugar yield and 76.51 g/L total sugars at 10% solid-load. Sugar concentration further increased to 126.9 g/L at 20% solid-load, generating 3.89 g/L acetate, 0.92 g/L 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, 0.82 g/L furfural, and 3.75 g/L total phenolics as inhibitors. To determine the effects of soluble sugars in HSS on fermentable sugar yield and inhibitor formation, sugar-removed HSS was further studied under the optimum conditions. Although prior removal of sugars exhibited a reduction in inhibitor generation, it also decreased total fermentable sugar production to 115.45 g/L.

Effect of nano-metal doped calcium peroxide on biomass pretreatment and green hydrogen production from rice straw

In this study, calcium peroxide was modified and doped with metal-based nanoparticles (NP) to enhance the efficiency of pretreatment and biohydrogen generation from RS. The findings revealed that the addition of MnO2-CaO2 NPs (at a dosage of 0.02 g/g TS of RS) had a synergistic effect on the breakdown of biomass and the production of biohydrogen. This enhancement resulted in a maximum hydrogen yield (HY) of 58 mL/g TS, accompanied by increased concentrations of acetic acid (2117 mg/L) and butyric acid (1325 mg/L). In contrast, RS that underwent pretreatment without the use of chemicals or NP exhibited a lower HY of 28 mL/g TS, along with the lowest concentrations of acetic acid (1062 mg/L) and butyric acid (697 mg/L). The outcome showed that supplementation of NP stimulated the pretreatment of RS and improved the formation of acetic and butyric acid through the regulation of metabolic pathways during acidogenic fermentation.

A review on modelling of thermochemical processing of biomass for biofuels and prospects of artificial intelligence-enhanced approaches

Biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass converted via thermochemical technologies can be renewable and sustainable, which makes them promising as alternatives to conventional fossil fuels. Prior to building industrial-scale thermochemical conversion plants, computational models are used to simulate process flows and conditions, conduct feasibility studies, and analyse process and business risk. This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of the art in modelling thermochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass. Emphasis is given to the recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI)-based modelling that plays an increasingly important role in enhancing the performance of the models. This review shows that AI-based models offer prominent accuracy compared to thermodynamic equilibrium modelling implemented in some models. It is also evident that gasification and pyrolysis models are more matured than thermal liquefaction for lignocelluloses. Additionally, the knowledge gained and future directions in the applications of simulation and AI in process modelling are explored.

Evaluation and Optimization of the Different Process Parameters of Mild Acid Pretreatment of Waste Lignocellulosic Biomass for Enhanced Energy Procreation

The screening and evaluation of different waste lignocellulosic biomasses to meet the ever-increasing energy demand, from the widely available waste lignocellulosic biomasses evaluated. For the current study, peanut shell biomass is considered for energy procreation. However, the energy content of biomass is still lesser as compared to conventional fossil fuels like coal and petroleum. The dilute acid pretreatment has been proven to improve the energy content of the lignocellulosic biomasses to a significant extent. Various pretreatment process parameters have been reported to have different degrees of impact on the betterment of energy procreation. Among various types of pretreatments, dilute acid pretreatment holds notable cognizance. Accordingly, the current manuscript is to evaluate the impact of various pretreatment process parameters (time, temperature, acid concentration, mass:liquor ratio, and particle size which were defined through an exhaustive literature search) for improving the energy recovery potential. The obtained results indicated notable changes in the devolatilization characteristics of the biomass as a result of pretreatment, thereby resulting in the upgradation of the fuel properties. A sustainability investigation has been carried out to point out the efficacy of the optimized pretreatment of biomass in terms of environmental sustainability and was also compared with the raw variant (untreated form of biomass). The proposed scheme of study will definitely be beneficial toward the mitigation of the energy crisis in the state of Jharkhand.

Enhanced biohydrogen production from high loads of unpretreated cattle manure by cellulolytic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor bescii at 75 °C

Caldicellulosiruptor bescii is the most thermophilic cellulolytic bacterium capable of fermenting crystalline cellulose identified to date, and it also has a superior ability to degrade plant biomass without any pretreatment. This study is the first to assess the potential of utilizing unpretreated cattle manure (UCM) as a feedstock for hydrogen (H2) production by C. bescii at a concentration range between 2.5-50 g volatile solids (VS)/L. At 50 g VS/L UCM concentrations, H2 production ceased due to inhibition of C. bescii. To alleviate the impacts of inhibition, two strategies were adopted: (i) reduction of H2 build-up in the reactor headspace via gas sparging and (ii) adaptation of C. bescii to UCM via adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE). The former increased H2 yield by 47% compared to the control reactors, where no sparging was applied. The latter increased H2 yield by 142% compared to the control reactors inoculated by the wild type C. bescii. The UCM-adapted C. bescii demonstrated a remarkable H2 yield of 161.3 ± 1.6 mL H2/g VSadded at 15 g VS/L. This yield represents a twofold increase compared to the maximum H2 yield reported in the literature amongst fermentation studies utilizing manure as feed. At 15 g VS/L, around 73% of UCM was solubilized, and the carbon balance indicated that most of the effluent carbon was in the sugar- and acid-form. The remarkable ability of C. bescii to produce H2 from UCM under non-sterile conditions presents a significant potential for sustainable biohydrogen production from renewable feedstocks.

Exploring the cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic activities of manganese peroxidase for lignocellulose deconstruction

BACKGROUND

A cost-effective pretreatment and saccharification process is a necessary prerequisite for utilizing lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) in biofuel and biomaterials production. Utilizing a multifunctional enzyme with both pretreatment and saccharification functions in a single step for simultaneous biological pretreatment and saccharification process (SPS) will be a green method of low cost and high efficiency. Manganese peroxidase (MnP, EC 1.11.1.13), a well-known lignin-degrading peroxidase, is generally preferred for the biological pretreatment of biomass. However, exploring the role and performance of MnP in LCB conversion will promote the application of MnP for lignocellulose-based biorefineries.

RESULTS

In this study, we explored the ability of an MnP from Moniliophthora roreri, MrMnP, in LCB degradation. With Mn2+ and H2O2, MrMnP decomposed 5.0 g/L carboxymethyl cellulose to 0.14 mM of reducing sugar with a conversion yield of 5.0 mg/g, including 40 μM cellobiose, 70 μM cellotriose, 20 μM cellotetraose, and 10 μM cellohexaose, and degraded 1.0 g/L mannohexaose to 0.33 μM mannose, 4.08 μM mannotriose, and 4.35 μM mannopentaose. Meanwhile, MrMnP decomposed 5.0 g/L lichenan to 0.85 mM of reducing sugar with a conversion yield of 30.6 mg/g, including 10 μM cellotriose, 20 μM cellotetraose, and 80 μM cellohexose independently of Mn2+ and H2O2. Moreover, the versatility of MrMnP in LCB deconstruction was further verified by decomposing locust bean gum and wheat bran into reducing sugars with a conversion yield of 54.4 mg/g and 29.5 mg/g, respectively, including oligosaccharides such as di- and tri-saccharides. The catalytic mechanism underlying MrMnP degraded lignocellulose was proposed as that with H2O2, MrMnP oxidizes Mn2+ to Mn3+. Subsequently, it forms a complex with malonate, facilitating the degradation of CMC and mannohexaose into reducing sugars. Without H2O2, MrMnP directly oxidizes malonate to hydroperoxyl acetic acid radical to form compound I, which then attacks the glucosidic bond of lichenan.

CONCLUSION

This study identified a new function of MrMnP in the hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose, suggesting that MrMnP exhibits its versatility in the pretreatment and saccharification of LCB. The results will lead to an in-depth understanding of biocatalytic saccharification and contribute to forming new enzymatic systems for using lignocellulose resources to produce sustainable and economically viable products and the long-term development of biorefinery, thereby increasing the productivity of LCB as a green resource.

Utilization of agricultural residues for energy and resource recovery towards a sustainable environment

Fungal pre-treatment using Pleurotus ostreatus (PO) was carried out on individual and combinations of agro-waste wheat straw (WS), rice straw (RS), and pearl millet straw (PMS) with the addition of biochar (5%,7.5% and 10%) to reduce the pre-treatment duration. Further remaining substrate known as spent mushroom substrate (SMS) was used in anaerobic digestor (AD) for estimation enhanced biomethane yield. Equal ratios of RS + WS, WS + PMS, PMS + RS, and RS + PMS + WS and biochar addition were taken for enhancing pre-treatment, PO growth and AD process. The extent of pre-treatment was recorded with the maximum lignin removal of 40.4% for RS + PMS + WS as compared to untreated counterparts and 0.5%, 2.2%, and 3.3% times more lignin removal from individual PMS, RS, and WS respectively. Addition of biochar to the substrates reduced the total pre-treatment duration by days as compared to the non-biochar substrates. Biological efficiency (BE) used for the analysis of mushroom growth varied from 51-92%. Further, the average bio-methane yield was 187 ml/gVS for SMS of PMS + WS + RS with 10% biochar indicating an increment of 83.33% from untreated SMS of PMS + WS + RS. This, higher biomethane yield was 9.35%, 22.22% and 57.14% times higher than individual SMS of PMS, RS, and WS respectively. The current study shows that biochar not only enhances the bio-methane yield but also reduces the biological pre-treatment duration and removes the dependency on one lignocellulosic biomass for energy (bio-methane) and food (mushroom) production.

Biomass and domestic waste: a potential resource combination for bioenergy generation and water treatment via benthic microbial fuel cell

The benthic microbial fuel cell (BMFC) is one of the most efficient types of bioelectrochemical fuel cell systems. Modern bioelectrochemical fuel cells have several drawbacks, including an unstable organic substrate and a microorganism-unfriendly atmosphere. The recent literature to encounter such issues is one of the emerging talks. Researchers are focusing on the utilization of biomass and waste to encounter such challenges and make the technique more feasible at the pilot scale. This study investigated the combination of local bakery waste as an organic substrate with lignocellulosic biomass material. The whole experiment was conducted for 45 days. At an external resistance of 1000 ῼ and an internal resistance of 677 ῼ, the power density was found to be 3.51 mW/m2. Similarly, for Pb2+, Cd2+, Cr3+, Ni2+, and Co2+, the degradation efficiency was 84.40%, 81.21%, 80%, 89.50%, and 86.0%, respectively. The bacterial identification results showed that Liquorilactobacillus nagelii, Proteus mirabilis, Pectobacterium punjabense, and Xenorhabdus thuongxuanensis are the most prominent species found on anode biofilm. The method of electron generation in this study, which includes the degradation of metal ions, is also well described. Lastly, optimising the parameters showed that pH 7 provides a feasible environment for operation. A few future suggestions for practical steps are enclosed for the research community.

Insights into the roles of humic acids in facilitating the anaerobic digestion process

Humic acids (HAs) are important byproducts of anaerobic digestion (AD), which have complex structures and dynamic electrochemical activities. However, the effects of HAs on AD process were usually misestimated due to the neglect of the in situ generated HAs and the interaction between HAs and metal ions. This study explored the effects of HAs on AD performance using corn straw as typical "clean" substrate (rare in metals content) via commercial HAs (C-HAs) addition and in-situ-generated HAs (In-HAs) removal. Results showed that C-HAs (1 g/L) addition promoted the maximum methane production rate (Rm) by 20.6%, while In-HAs removal decreased the Rm by 42.7%. Meanwhile, C-HAs showed little effect on the acidification of corn straw but increased the Rm during the methanation of ethanol by 41.6%. Both the C-HAs and In-HAs were rich in surface oxygen-containing functional groups, which enabled them to act as electron shuttles and facilitate the syntrophic methanogenesis. HAs also acted in regulation of syntrophic microorganisms. For instance, C-HAs addition enriched the relative abundances of Cloacimonadia, Spirochaetia, Synergistia and Methanosarcina, while the removal of In-HAs reduced the relative abundances of Spirochaetia and Synergistia. In conclusion, HAs addition to the AD process could be a feasible approach to improve methane production by enhancing direct interspecies electron transfer during AD of lignocellulosic biomass.

Production Enhancement of Bacterial Cellulase Cocktail Using Potato Peels Waste Feedstock and Combination of Water Hyacinth Root and Pea Pod Extract as Natural Nutrient Media: Application in Bioconversion of Potato Peels

Solid wastes are the major contributors in global environmental pollution and their management is the need of urgency towards development of sustainable world. In the present work, solid waste of potato peels has been used as feedstock for fermentation of bacterial cellulase production and substrate for enzymatic hydrolysis via this enzymes cocktail. Additionally, liquid extracts of pea pod and root of water hyacinth wastes have been used to complete nutritional requirements and moisture balance in SSF process during the course of enzyme production. At optimum feedstock concentration of 6.0 g PPW and 10:40 extract-based moisture ratio of WHR and Ppw, Bacillus sp. produced 15 U/gds FP in 18 h, whereas maximum 36 U/gds BGL and 42 U/gds EG have been recorded in 24 h of SSF. Temperature 35 °C and pH 5.5 were optimum for enzyme production while the produced enzyme was thermally stable upto 30 h at 35 °C with 100% pH stability upto 14 h and 77% relative activity at 34 h. The optimized bacterial enzymes have been used for bioconversion of PPW biomass and 26 g/L glucose has been recorded at a hydrolytic temperature of 50 °C and pH 5.0. The study may have feasible promising scope in cellulosic biorefineries and waste management.