Sonocrystallization and Its Application in Food and Bioprocessing

Sono-activation of food enzymes: From principles to practice

Over the last decade, sono-activation of enzymes as an emerging research area has received considerable attention from food researchers. This kind of relatively new application of ultrasound has demonstrated promising potential in facilitating the modern food industry by broadening the application of various food enzymes, improving relevant industrial unit operation and productivity, as well as increasing the yield of target products. This review aims to provide insight into the fundamental principles and possible industrialization strategies of the sono-activation of food enzymes to facilitate its commercialization. This review first provides an overview of ultrasound application in the activation of food protease, carbohydrase, and lipase. Then, the recent development on ultrasound activation of food enzymes is discussed on aspects including mechanisms, influencing factors, modification effects, and its applications in real food systems for free and immobilized enzymes. Despite the far fewer studies on sono-activation of immobilized enzymes compared with those on free enzymes, we endeavored to summarize the relevant aspects in three stages: ultrasound pretreatment of free enzyme/carrier, assistance in immobilization process, and modification of the already immobilized enzyme. Lastly, challenges for the scalability of ultrasound in these target areas are discussed and future research prospects are proposed.

Ultrasound-assisted emerging technologies for chemical processes

The chemical industry has witnessed many important developments during past decades largely enabled by process intensification techniques. Some of them are already proven at commercial scale (e.g. reactive distillation) while others (e.g. ultrasound-assisted extraction/crystallization/reaction) are on their way to becoming the next-generation technologies. This article focuses on the advances of ultrasound (US)-assisted technologies that could lead in the near future to significant improvements in commercial activities. The aim is to provide an authoritative discussion on US-assisted technologies that are currently emerging from the research environment into the chemical industry, as well as give an overview of the current state-of-the-art applications of US in chemical processing (e.g. enzymatic reactive distillation, crystallization of API). Sufficient information is included to allow the assessment of US-assisted technologies and the challenges for implementation, as well as their potential for commercial applications. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Ultrasound-Assisted Synthesis of Nanostructured Oxide Materials

This chapter is focused on the use of high intensity ultrasound for the preparation of nanostructured materials with an emphasis on recent prominent examples of the production of dense or porous metal oxides through sonochemical and ultrasonic spray pyrolysis routes. Sonochemistry enables the synthesis of oxides that are often unachievable by traditional methods or affords known materials with shape, size, and nano/microstructure control under fast reaction conditions. The fundamental principles of acoustic cavitation, as well as the main ultrasonic parameters affecting the cavitation phenomenon, are first summarized. Next, the applications of ultrasound in the synthesis of nanostructured oxide materials following both preparation methods are reviewed. Particular focus is given to the ultrasound-assisted synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles for energy applications.

Sonochemistry: what potential for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into platform chemicals?

This Review focuses on the use of ultrasound to produce chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. However, the question about the potential of sonochemistry for valorization/conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into added-value chemicals is rather conceptual. Until now, this technology has been mainly used for the production of low-value chemicals such as biodiesel or as simple method for pretreatment or extraction. According to preliminary studies reported in literature, access to added-value chemicals can be easily and sometimes solely obtained by the use of ultrasound. The design of sonochemical parameters offers many opportunities to develop new eco-friendly and efficient processes. The goal of this Review is to understand why the use of ultrasound is focused rather on pretreatment or extraction of lignocellulosic biomass rather than on the production of chemicals and to understand, through the reported examples, which directions need to be followed to favor strategies based on ultrasound-assisted production of chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. We believe that ultrasound-assisted processes represent an innovative approach and will create a growing interest in academia but also in the industry in the near future. Based on the examples reported in the literature, we critically discuss how sonochemistry could offer new strategies and give rise to new results in lignocellulosic biomass valorization.