Selecting the right blood glucose monitor for the determination of glucose during the enzymatic hydrolysis of corncob pretreated with different methods

Microalgae production in human urine: Fundamentals, opportunities, and perspectives

The biological treatment of source-separated human urine to produce biofuel, nutraceutical, and high-value chemicals is getting increasing attention. Especially, photoautotrophic microalgae can use human urine as media to achieve environmentally and economically viable large-scale cultivation. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the up-to-date advancements in microalgae cultivation employing urine in photobioreactors (PBRs). The standard matrices describing algal growth and nutrient removal/recovery have been summarized to provide a platform for fair comparison among different studies. Specific consideration has been given to the critical operating factors to understand how the PBRs should be maintained to achieve high efficiencies. Finally, we discuss the perspectives that emphasize the impacts of co-existing bacteria, contamination by human metabolites, and genetic engineering on the practical microalgal biomass production in urine.

Enhancing the hydrolysis and methane production potential of mixed food waste by an effective enzymatic pretreatment

In this study, a fungal mash rich in hydrolytic enzymes was produced by solid state fermentation (SSF) of waste cake in a simple and efficient manner and was further applied for high-efficiency hydrolysis of mixed food wastes (FW). The enzymatic pretreatment of FW with this fungal mash resulted in 89.1 g/L glucose, 2.4 g/L free amino nitrogen, 165 g/L soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and 64% reduction in volatile solids within 24h. The biomethane yield and production rate from FW pretreated with the fungal mash were found to be respectively about 2.3 and 3.5-times higher than without pretreatment. After anaerobic digestion of pretreated FW, a volatile solids removal of 80.4±3.5% was achieved. The pretreatment of mixed FW with the fungal mash produced in this study is a promising option for enhancing anaerobic digestion of FW in terms of energy recovery and volume reduction.

Evaluation of alkaline pretreatment temperature on a multi-product basis for the co-production of glucose and hemicellulose based films from lignocellulosic biomass

Cotton stalks were subjected to alkaline pretreatment for the co-production of glucose and hemicellulose based films with a multi-product approach. Three pretreatment temperatures (25, 60 and 90 °C) were evaluated for their effects both on the glucose yield and on the properties of hemicellulose based films. Compared to untreated cotton stalks, the glucose yields were enhanced 3.9, 4.1 and 4.2 times for pretreatments conducted at 25, 60 and 90 °C, respectively. The pretreatment temperature of 90 °C was detrimental in terms of film formation. Tensile energy to break values of the films obtained after pretreatments conducted at 25, 60 and 90 °C were 1.1, 0.8, and 0.4 MJ/m3, respectively. The hemicellulosic part of the process, which considers the production of hemicellulose based films, should govern the pretreatment temperature since it was more responsive to the changes in the pretreatment temperature compared to the cellulosic part that accounts for glucose production.