Electron shuttling to ferrihydrite selects for fermentative rather than Fe3+ -reducing biomass in xylose-fed batch reactors derived from three different inoculum sources

Evaluation of dissolved and immobilized redox mediators on dark fermentation: Driving to hydrogen or solventogenic pathway

In this work, lawsone (LQ) and anthraquinone 2-sulphonate (AQS) (dissolved and covalently immobilized on activated carbon) were evaluated as redox mediators during the dark fermentation of glucose by a pretreated anaerobic sludge. Findings revealed that the use of dissolved LQ increased H₂ production (10%), and dissolved AQS improved H₂ production rate (11.4%). Furthermore, the total production of liquid byproducts (acetate, butyrate, ethanol, and butanol) was enhanced using dissolved (17%) and immobilized (36%) redox mediators. The established redox standard potentials of LQ and AQS suggested a possible interaction through electron transfer in cytochromes complexes for hydrogen production and the Bcd/EtfAB complex for volatile fatty acid formation.

Solvent production from xylose

Xylose is the second most abundant sugar derived from lignocellulose; it is considered less desirable than glucose for fermentation, and strategies that specifically increase xylose utilization in wild type or engineered cells are goals for biofuel production. Issues arise with xylose utilization because of carbohydrate catabolite repression, which is the preferential utilization of glucose relative to xylose in fermentations with both pure and mixed cultures. Taken together the low substrate utilization rates and solvent yields with xylose compared to glucose, many industrial fermentations ignore the xylolytic portion of the reaction in lieu of methods to maintain high glucose. This is shortsighted given the massive potential for xylose generation from a number of sustainable biomass feedstocks, based on utilization of the hemicellulose fraction(s) that enter pretreatment. A number of strategies have been developed in recent years to address xylose utilization and solvent production from xylose in systems with just xylose, or in systems with mixtures of glucose plus xylose, which are more typical of pretreated lignocellulose. The approaches vary in terms of complexity, stability, and ease of introduction to existing fermentation infrastructure (i.e., so-called drop-in fermentation strategies). Some approaches can be considered traditional engineering approaches (e.g., change the reaction conditions), while others are more subtle cellular approaches to eliminate the impacts of catabolite repression. Finally, genetic engineering has been used to increase xylose utilization, although this can be considered a relatively nascent approach compared to manipulations completed to date for glucose utilization.