Liquid hot water pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse and its comparison with chemical pretreatment methods for the sugar recovery and structural changes

Aqueous Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Binderless Material Production: Influence of Twin-Screw Extrusion Configuration and Liquid-to-Solid Ratio

This study was carried out to investigate the continuous aqueous pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) through twin-screw extrusion for a new integrated full valorization, where the solid residue (extrudate) was used for the production of bio-based materials by thermocompression and the filtrate for the production of high-value-added molecules. Two configurations, with and without a filtration module, were tested and the influence of the SCB composition and structure on the properties of the materials were determined. The impact of the liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio was studied (0.65-6.00) in relation to the material properties and the biomolecule extraction yield in the filtrate (with the filtration configuration). An L/S ratio of at least 1.25 was required to obtain a liquid filtrate, and increasing the L/S ratio to 2 increased the extraction yield to 11.5 g/kg of the inlet SCB. The extrudate obtained without filtration yielded materials with properties equivalent to those obtained with filtration for L/S ratios of at least 1.25. Since the molecule extraction process was limited, a configuration without filtration would make it possible to reduce water consumption in the process while obtaining high material properties. Under the filtration configuration, an L/S ratio of 2 was the best tradeoff between water consumption, extraction yield, and the material properties, which included 1485 kg/m3 density, 6.2 GPa flexural modulus, 51.2 MPa flexural strength, and a water absorption (WA) and thickness swelling (TS) of 37% and 44%, respectively, after 24 h of water immersion. The aqueous pretreatment by twin-screw extrusion allowed for the overall valorization of SCB, resulting in materials with significantly improved properties compared to those obtained with raw SCB due to fiber deconstruction.

High value-added lignin extracts from sugarcane by-products

This study evaluates the production of lignin bioactive extracts from sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and straw (SCS) alkaline black liquors using greener precipitating agents (methane sulfonic acid (MSA), formic acid (FA) and lactic acid (LA)) as replacers of sulfuric acid (SA), the most common one used in industry. Results showed that the highest precipitation yield was achieved by LA when applied to SCB (14.5 g extract/100 g SCB). Lignin SCB extracts were similar in composition in terms of total carbohydrates (61-70 %), lignin (22-30 %) and inorganics (1.6-2.6 %). Regarding the SCS extracts, similar yields were obtained among all extracts, however, differences in composition were observed between SA and greener precipitating agents, particularly in terms of sugar content. All extracts exhibited radical scavenging activity; overall the extracts were more effective in the scavenging of ABTS radical. FA was the most promising alternative to SA to recover lignin bioactive extracts. This work suggests organic acids as good candidates for obtaining valuable extracts from alkaline pulping of SCB and SCS instead of the conventional sulfuric acid.

An insight into the principles of lignocellulosic biomass-based zero-waste biorefineries: a green leap towards imperishable energy-based future

Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is an energy source that has a huge impact in today's world. The depletion of fossil fuels, increased pollution, climatic changes, etc. have led the public and private sectors to move towards sustainability i.e. using LCB for the production of biofuels and value-added compounds. A major bottleneck of the process is the recalcitrant nature of LCB. This can be overcome by using various pretreatment strategies like physical, chemical, biological, physicochemical, etc. Further, the pretreated biomass is made to undergo various steps like hydrolysis, saccharification, etc. for the conversion of value-added products and the remaining waste residues can be further utilized for the synthesis of secondary products thus favouring the zero-waste biorefinery concept. Currently, microorganisms are being explored for their use in biorefinery but the unavailability of commercial strains is a major limitation. Thus, the use of metagenomics can be used to overcome the limitation which is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. The review deliberates the composition of LCBs, and their recalcitrance nature, followed by the structural changes caused by various pretreatment methods. The further steps in biorefineries, strategies for the development of zero-waste refineries, bottlenecks, and suggestions are also discussed. Special emphasis is given to the use of metagenomics for the discovery of microorganisms efficient for zero-waste biorefineries.

The application of green solvent in a biorefinery using lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock

The high dependence on crude oil for energy utilization leads to a necessity of finding alternative sustainable resources. Solvents are often employed in valorizing the biomass into bioproducts and other value-added chemicals during treatment stages. Unfortunately, despite the effectiveness of conventional solvents, hindrances such as expensive solvents, unfavourable environmental ramifications, and complicated downstream separation systems often occur. Therefore, the scientific community has been actively investigating more cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternatives and possess the excellent dissolving capability for biomass processing. Generally, 'green' solvents are attractive due to their low toxicity, economic value, and biodegradability. Nonetheless, green solvents are not without disadvantages due to their complicated product recovery, recyclability, and high operational cost. This review summarizes and evaluates the recent contributions, including potential advantages, challenges, and drawbacks of green solvents, namely ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents, water, biomass-derived solvents and carbon dioxide in transforming the lignocellulosic biomass into high-value products. Moreover, research opportunities for future developments and potential upscale implementation of green solvents are also critically discussed.

Effects of Colloid Milling and Hot-Water Pretreatment on Physical Properties and Enzymatic Digestibility of Oak Wood

A two-step process using colloid milling (CM) and hot water (HW) treatment was evaluated for its ability to improve xylose recovery and the enzymatic digestibility of oak wood. In the first step, CM pretreatment was applied at a milling (feeding) speed of 100 mL/min with four different milling times (3, 6, 9, and 12 h), and the enzymatic digestibility and physical properties of each substrate were measured. In the second-step, the HW pretreatment was applied to enhance the enzymatic digestibility and xylan recovery at various reaction severities (Log R0) from 2.07 to 4.43 using 12 h colloid-milled (CM-treated) oak wood. Compared with untreated oak wood, CM not only significantly disrupted the structure of oak wood but also increased its Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area (42-fold) and pore volume (28-fold). The crystallinity of two-step-treated oak wood was decreased to 34.8, while the enzymatic digestibility of 12 h CM-treated oak wood was increased to 58.1% at enzyme loading of 30 filter paper units (FPU)/g glucan for 96 h. After HW treatment of CM-treated oak wood at Log R0 = 3.83, 80.7% of xylan recovery yield and 91.1% of enzymatic digestibility (with 15 FPU/g glucan at 96 h) was obtained, which was 84.2% higher than the enzymatic digestibility of untreated oak wood (6.9%).

Liquid hot water as sustainable biomass pretreatment technique for bioenergy production: A review

In recent years, lignocellulosic biomass has emerged as one of the most versatile energy sources among the research community for the production of biofuels and value-added chemicals. However, biomass pretreatment plays an important role in reducing the recalcitrant properties of lignocellulose, leading to superior quality of target products in bioenergy production. Among existing pretreatment techniques, liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment has several outstanding advantages compared to others including minimum formation of monomeric sugars, significant removal of hemicellulose, and positive environmental impacts; however, several constraints of LHW pretreatment should be clarified. This contribution aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of reaction mechanism, reactor characteristics, influencing factors, techno-economic aspects, challenges, and prospects for LHW-based biomass pretreatment. Generally, LHW pretreatment could be widely employed in bioenergy processing from biomass, but circular economy-based advanced pretreatment techniques should be further studied in the future to achieve maximum efficiency, and minimum cost and drawbacks.

Profiling multi-enzyme activities of Aspergillus niger strains growing on various agro-industrial residues

Agro-industrial wastes provide potential sources of carbon for production of fungal enzymes applied for various biotechnological applications. In this study, 23 strains of Aspergillus niger were systematically investigated for their capability on production of carbohydrate-processing enzymes used in industries. The strains were grown on glucose or selected agricultural wastes comprising varied chemical compositions as the sole carbon source. As a control, glucose induced basal activities of amylase, pectinase, and xylanase in only a few strains, while the CMCase, β-glucanase, and invertase activities were detected only when the carbon source was switched to the agro-industrial biomass. According to one-way ANOVA analysis, banana peels containing lignocellulosic components with high pectin and starch contents with its easily digestible nature, were found to be the best carbon source for inducing production of most target enzymes, while the cellulose-rich sugarcane bagasse efficiently promoted maximal levels of β-glucanase and xylanase activities. The starch fiber-rich cassava pulp also effectively supported the activities of amylase and most other enzymes, but at relatively lower levels compared to those obtained with banana peel. The A. niger TL11 strain was considered the most potent strain for production of all target enzymes with the CMCase, xylanase, pectinase, β-glucanase, amylase, and invertase activities of 76.15, 601.59, 160.89, 409.20, 426.73, and 1186.94 U/mL, respectively. The results provide insights into the efficiency of various carbon sources with different chemical compositions on inducing the target enzymes as well as the dissimilarity of A. niger strains on the production of different carbohydrate-processing enzymes.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-03086-y.

Hydrothermal co-hydrolysis of corncob/sugarcane bagasse/Broussonetia papyrifera blends: Kinetics, thermodynamics and fermentation

Biorefinery of biomass blends can achieve sustainable development of biofuel production. Herein, three lignocellulosic wastes with significant differences in chemical composition-namely corncob (CC), sugarcane bagasse (SB), and Broussonetia papyrifera (BP)-were selected to investigate their hydrothermal co-hydrolysis kinetics and thermodynamics of different biomass blends. Activation energies of hemicellulose decomposition (Ea₁, 90.59 kJ/mol) for CC/SB were lower than those for CC (126.12 kJ/mol) and CC/SB/BP (153.62 kJ/mol). BP (having a high content of nitrogen sources) loading weakened the acidic autohydrolysis of CC/SB hemicellulose, but yielded stable products as indicated by the negative entropy value for CC/SB/BP hydrolysis. Cumulative feedback inhibition occurred among different biomass, and it could be minimized by controlling the blending ratio. The highest total xylose yield was 83.64% for CC/SB with a mass ratio of 2:1. Moreover, biomass blend of CC/SB/BP enabled complete utilization of hexose, pentose and amino acids by co-production of ethanol and microalga biomass.

Cellulosic and hemicellulosic fractions of sugarcane bagasse: Potential, challenges and future perspective

Sugarcane bagasse is a rich source of cellulose (32-45%), hemicellulose (20-32%) and lignin (17-32%), 1.0-9.0% ash and some extractives. Huge amount of the generation of sugarcane bagasse has been a great challenge to industries and environment at global level for many years. Though cellulosic and hemicellulosic fractions in bagasse makes it a potential raw substrate for the production of value-added products at large scale, the presence of lignin hampers its saccharification which further leads to low yields of the value-added products. Therefore, an appropriate pretreatment strategy is of utmost importance that effectively solubilizes the lignin that exposes cellulose and hemicellulose for enzymatic action. Pretreatment also reduces the biomass recalcitrance i.e., cellulose crystallinity, structural complexity of cell wall and lignification for its effective utilization in biorefinery. Sugarcane bagasse served as nutrient medium for the cultivation of diverse microorganisms for the production of industrially important metabolites including enzymes, reducing sugars, prebiotic, organic acids and biofuels. Sugarcane bagasse has been utilized in the generation of electricity, syngas and as biosorbant in the bioremediation of heavy metals. Furthermore, the ash generated from bagasse is an excellent source for the synthesis of high strength and light weight bricks and tiles. Present review describes the utility of sugarcane bagasse as sustainable and renewable lignocellulosic substrate for the production of industrially important multifarious value-added products.

Performance targets defined by retro-techno-economic analysis for the use of soybean protein as saccharification additive in an integrated biorefinery

The use of additives in the enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass can have positive effects, decreasing the unproductive adsorption of cellulases on lignin and reducing the loss of enzyme activity. Soybean protein stands out as a potential lignin-blocking additive, but the economic impact of its use has not previously been investigated. Here, a systematic evaluation was performed of the process conditions, together with a techno-economic analysis, for the use of soybean protein in the saccharification of hydrothermally pretreated sugarcane bagasse in the context of an integrated 1G-2G ethanol biorefinery. Statistical experimental design methodology was firstly applied as a tool to select the process variable solids loading at 15% (w/w) and soybean protein concentration at 12% (w/w), followed by determination of enzyme dosage at 10 FPU/g and hydrolysis time of 24 h. The saccharification of sugarcane bagasse under these conditions enabled an increase of 26% in the amount of glucose released, compared to the control without additive. The retro-techno-economic analysis (RTEA) technique showed that to make the biorefinery economically feasible, some performance targets should be reached experimentally such as increasing biomass conversion to ideally 80% and reducing enzyme loading to 5.6 FPU/g in the presence of low-cost soybean protein.

Liquid hot water treatment of rice straw enhances anaerobic degradation and inhibits methane production during in vitro ruminal fermentation

Liquid hot water (LHW) treatment can be used to disrupt the fiber structure of rice straw. This in vitro ruminal batch culture study investigated the effect of LHW treatment on feed degradation, methane (CH₄) production, and microbial populations. Rice straw was treated by LHW, and in vitro ruminal fermentation was performed using an automatic system with 72 h of incubation. Scanning electron microscopy showed that LHW treatment disrupted the physical structure of rice straw. Liquid hot water treatment decreased neutral detergent fiber and hemicellulose contents of the rice straw and increased neutral detergent solubles, water-soluble carbohydrates, and arabinose contents. Liquid hot water treatment increased dry matter degradation and volatile fatty acid concentration and decreased the acetate:propionate ratio, CH₄ production, hydrogen accumulation, neutral detergent fiber degradation, and populations of protozoa, fungi, and cellulolytic bacteria. In summary, LHW treatment disrupted the cellulose-hemicellulose-lignin structure matrix of rice straw, leading to increased substrate degradability and decreased CH₄ production. Therefore, the LHW treatment is a potential strategy to improve the nutritive value of forage such as rice straw and decrease the CH₄ emissions in ruminants.

Selective deconstruction of hemicellulose and lignin with producing derivatives by sequential pretreatment process for biorefining concept

For improving the economic efficiency of the biorefining concept, selective decomposition and separation of biomass components is indispensable. In this respect, a sequential pretreatment process consisting of liquid hot water treatment and diluted peracetic acid (PAA) treatment was proposed for total utilization of lignocellulosic woody biomass. During the liquid hot water treatment, hemicellulose can be decomposed efficiently without significant loss of cellulose and lignin, implying the possibility for xylooligomer production by thermochemical treatment. In the PAA treatment, lignin was successfully degraded and liquefied using a 50% diluted PAA solvent, suggesting the possibility of dicarboxylic acid production. After the sequential process proposed in this study, the cellulose accessibility to the enzyme could be maximized by inducing selective deconstruction of hemicellulose and lignin.

Enhanced Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Corncob by Synthesized Enzyme-Mimetic Magnetic Solid Acid Pretreatment in an Aqueous Phase

A novel magnetic carbon-based solid acid catalyst (C350-Cl) was synthesized through a simple impregnation-carbonization process and used for the pretreatment of corncob in an aqueous medium. Under the optimized pretreatment reaction conditions, the yield of pentose reached 91.6% with a hemicellulose removal rate of 91.7%, and the subsequent enzymatic digestibility of the pretreated corncob residue reached 90.0% at 48 h. C350-Cl is a magnetic enzyme-mimetic solid acid catalyst, and its catalytic behavior is similar to those of enzymes. In addition, the catalyst is also an excellent carrier for Fe and Cl in that the Fe³⁺ and Cl^-can be released slowly in the pretreatment to assist the hydrolysis of lignocellulose. Compared with the traditional method with other catalysts, this hydrolysis process is suitable for the effective and sustainable saccharification of lignocellulose for producing fermentable sugar.

Biomethane Production From Lignocellulose: Biomass Recalcitrance and Its Impacts on Anaerobic Digestion

Anaerobic digestion using lignocellulosic material as the substrate is a cost-effective strategy for biomethane production, which provides great potential to convert biomass into renewable energy. However, the recalcitrance of native lignocellulosic biomass makes it resistant to microbial hydrolysis, which reduces the bioconversion efficiency of organic matter into biogas. Therefore, it is necessary to critically investigate the correlation between lignocellulose characteristics and bioconversion efficiency. Accordingly, this review comprehensively summarizes the anaerobic digestion process and rate-limiting step, structural and compositional properties of lignocellulosic biomass, recalcitrance and inhibitors of lignocellulose and their major effects on anaerobic digestion for biomethane production. Moreover, various type of pretreatment strategies applied to lignocellulosic biomass was discussed in detail, which would contribution to cell wall degradation and improvement of biomethane yields. In the view of current knowledge, high energy input and cost requirements are the main limitations of these pretreatment methods. In addition to optimization of fermentation process, further studies should focus much more on key structural influence factors of biomass recalcitrance and anaerobic digestion efficiency, which will contribute to improvement of biomethane production from lignocellulose.

Effect of severity factor on the hydrothermal pretreatment of sugarcane straw

The recalcitrant structures of sugarcane straw and related lignocellulosic biomasses require a pretreatment step to enable a better enzymatic attack during the hydrolysis. Factors like the energy consumption and the formation of inhibitors require the optimization of the pretreatment step. Thus, the influence of different severity factors (SF) on hydrothermal (also called liquid hot water, LHW) pretreatment was evaluated using a factorial design 2² with central point. The obtained results showed that low values of SF (<3.39) did not promote reasonable alteration in the sugarcane straw structures, whereas high SF values (>4.70) resulted in loss of hydrolyzed sugars, generation of inhibitors such as furfural, and formation of pseudo-lignin structures, despite high hemicellulose removal (∼97%). The residence time exhibited low influence on LHW. An optimum condition was found for the process (10 min and 195 °C) with low cellulose solubilization (9.80%) and a reasonable hemicellulose removal (85.45%).

A novel rapid ultrasonication-microwave treatment for total lipid extraction from wet oleaginous yeast biomass for sustainable biodiesel production

Oleaginous yeasts have emerged as a sustainable source of renewable oils for liquid biofuels. However, biodiesel production from them has a few constraints with respect to their cell disruption and lipid extraction techniques. The lipid extraction from oleaginous yeasts commonly includes dewatering and drying of cell biomass, which requires energy and time. The aim of this work was to establish a process for the lipid extraction from wet biomass applying acid catalyzed hot water, as well as microwave, and rapid ultrasonication-microwave treatment together with the conventional Bligh and Dyer method. In the wake of testing all procedures, it was revealed that rapid ultrasonication-microwave treatment has great potential to give high lipid content (70.86% w/w) on the cell dry weight basis. The lipid profile after treatment showed the presence of appropriate quantities of saturated (10.39 ± 0.15%), monounsaturated (76.55 ± 0.19%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (11.49 ± 0.23%) which further improves biodiesel quality compared to the other methods. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of using rapid ultrasonication-microwave treatment for the lipid extraction from wet oleaginous yeast biomass in the literature.

In situ deep eutectic solvent pretreatment to improve lignin removal from garden wastes and enhance production of bio-methane and microbial lipids

Biomass pretreatment can improve the conversion efficiency of bioenergy production. Liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment is a truly green pretreatment due to its zero chemical use, but has the disadvantages of low lignin removal and pseudo-lignin formation. A modified liquid hot water (MLHW) process based on in situ synthesis of deep eutectic solvent (DES) could efficiently improve delignification of Roystonea regia leaves (LR) and leaf sheaths (LSR). LSR was less recalcitrant than LR, and its characteristics of higher porosity (34.8%) and thinner cell walls (5.2 μm) for LSR contributed it higher lignin removal (53.6%) and lower choline chloride (ChCl) consumption (H₂O-ChCl mass ratio of 2:1) than those (44.6% and 1:2) from LR. Moreover, a great improvement of 309.0% in bio-methane yield was achieved for the MLHW-treated LSR. In addition, in situ DES in MLHW had good biocompatibility with cellulase, microalgae, and yeast.

Relationship between sugarcane culm and leaf biomass composition and saccharification efficiency

BACKGROUND

Lignocellulosic biomass is recognized as a promising renewable feedstock for the production of biofuels. However, current methods for converting biomass into fermentable sugars are considered too expensive and inefficient due to the recalcitrance of the secondary cell wall. Biomass composition can be modified to create varieties that are efficiently broken down to release cell wall sugars. This study focused on identifying the key biomass components influencing plant cell wall recalcitrance that can be targeted for selection in sugarcane, an important and abundant source of biomass.

RESULTS

Biomass composition and the amount of glucan converted into glucose after saccharification were measured in leaf and culm tissues from seven sugarcane genotypes varying in fiber composition after no pretreatment and dilute acid, hydrothermal and ionic liquid pretreatments. In extractives-free sugarcane leaf and culm tissue, glucan, xylan, acid-insoluble lignin (AIL) and acid-soluble lignin (ASL) ranged from 20 to 32%, 15% to 21%, 14% to 20% and 2% to 4%, respectively. The ratio of syringyl (S) to guaiacyl (G) content in the lignin ranged from 1.5 to 2.2 in the culm and from 0.65 to 1.1 in the leaf. Hydrothermal and dilute acid pretreatments predominantly reduced xylan content, while the ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment targeted AIL reduction. The amount of glucan converted into glucose after 26 h of pre-saccharification was highest after IL pretreatment (42% in culm and 63.5% in leaf) compared to the other pretreatments. Additionally, glucan conversion in leaf tissues was approximately 1.5-fold of that in culm tissues. Percent glucan conversion varied between genotypes but there was no genotype that was superior to all others across the pretreatment groups. Path analysis revealed that S/G ratio, AIL and xylan had the strongest negative associations with percent glucan conversion, while ASL and glucan content had strong positive influences.

CONCLUSION

To improve saccharification efficiency of lignocellulosic biomass, breeders should focus on reducing S/G ratio, xylan and AIL content and increasing ASL and glucan content. This will be key for the development of sugarcane varieties for bioenergy uses.

Distinct polymer extraction and cellulose DP reduction for complete cellulose hydrolysis under mild chemical pretreatments in sugarcane

In this study, liquid hot water (LHW) and chemical (H₂SO₄, NaOH, CaO) pretreatments were performed in Saccharum species including sugarcane bagasse. In comparison, the LHW and CaO pretreatments significantly enhanced biomass enzymatic hydrolysis, leading to much high bioethanol yield obtained at 19% (% dry matter) with an almost complete hexoses-ethanol conversion in the desirable So5 bagasse sample. Despite the LHW and CaO are distinctive for extracting hemicellulose and lignin, both pretreatments largely reduced cellulose degree of polymerization for enhanced lignocellulose enzymatic saccharification. Further chemical analysis indicated that the pretreated So5 sample had much lower cellulose crystalline index, hemicellulosic Xyl/Ara and lignin S/H ratio than those of other biomass samples, which explained that the So5 had the highest bioethanol yield among Saccharum species. Therefore, a mechanism model was proposed to elucidate how mild pretreatments could enhance biomass enzymatic saccharification for a high bioethanol production in the desirable sugarcane bagasse.

Comparison of liquid hot water, very dilute acid and alkali treatments for enhancing enzymatic digestibility of hazelnut tree pruning residues

The effect of pretreatments on the composition of the hazelnut tree pruning residue (HTPR) and on the digestibility of the cellulose was investigated. The liquid hot water (LHW) and the very dilute acid (VDA) treatments were effective in solubilizing hemicellulose. The cellulose conversion increased up to around 60% (corresponding to 32-36 g/L glucose) with decreasing hemicellulose concentration in the pretreated HTPR. The alkali treatment provided partial delignification, however, the glucose production was comparably lower. Combining the hemicellulose removal and the delignification effect of different pretreatments in two-stage processes (LHW-alkali and VDA-alkali treatments) enhanced the cellulose concentration in the solids, but not the amount of glucose released in the enzymatic digestion. These results suggested that the hemicellulose was the main barrier against the conversion of cellulose in the LHW and VDA treated HTPR and the glucose in the hydrolysis medium inhibited the cellulase activity, which prevented the complete conversion of cellulose.

An Overview of Current Pretreatment Methods Used to Improve Lipid Extraction from Oleaginous Micro-Organisms

Microbial oils, obtained from oleaginous microorganisms are an emerging source of commercially valuable chemicals ranging from pharmaceuticals to the petroleum industry. In petroleum biorefineries, the microbial biomass has become a sustainable source of renewable biofuels. Biodiesel is mainly produced from oils obtained from oleaginous microorganisms involving various upstream and downstream processes, such as cultivation, harvesting, lipid extraction, and transesterification. Among them, lipid extraction is a crucial step for the process and it represents an important bottleneck for the commercial scale production of biodiesel. Lipids are synthesized in the cellular compartment of oleaginous microorganisms in the form of lipid droplets, so it is necessary to disrupt the cells prior to lipid extraction in order to improve the extraction yields. Various mechanical, chemical and physicochemical pretreatment methods are employed to disintegrate the cellular membrane of oleaginous microorganisms. The objective of the present review article is to evaluate the various pretreatment methods for efficient lipid extraction from the oleaginous cellular biomass available to date, as well as to discuss their advantages and disadvantages, including their effect on the lipid yield. The discussed mechanical pretreatment methods are oil expeller, bead milling, ultrasonication, microwave, high-speed and high-pressure homogenizer, laser, autoclaving, pulsed electric field, and non-mechanical methods, such as enzymatic treatment, including various emerging cell disruption techniques.

Valorisation of food and beverage waste via saccharification for sugars recovery

Valorisation of mixed food and beverage (F&B) waste was studied for the recovery of sugars via saccharification. Glucoamylase and sucrase were employed to hydrolyse the starch and sucrose present in the mixed F&B waste because of the high cost-effectiveness for such recovery. The Michaelis-Menten kinetics model suggests that preservatives and additives in beverages did not inhibit glucoamylase and sucrase during saccharification. High levels of glucose (228.1 g L^-1) and fructose (55.7 g L^-1) were efficiently produced within 12 h at a solid-to-liquid ratio of 37.5% (w/v) in 2.5 L bioreactors. An overall conversion yield of 0.17 g sugars per g of mixed F&B waste was obtained in mass balance analysis. Lastly, possible industrial applications of the sugar-rich hydrolysate and by-products are discussed. This study is believed to cast insights into F&B waste recycling via biotechnology to produce high-value added products to promote the establishment of a circular bio-economy.

Deep eutectic solvents from hemicellulose-derived acids for the cellulosic ethanol refining of Akebia' herbal residues

Here, the potential use of herbal residues of Akebia as feedstock for ethanol production is evaluated. Additionally, five deep eutectic solvents from hemicellulose-derived acids were prepared to overcome biomass recalcitrance. Reaction temperatures had more significant influences on solid loss and chemical composition than the molar ratios of choline chloride (ChCl) to derived acids. Glycolic acid resulted in the maximum levels of lignin, xylan and glucan removal, which were 60.0%, 100% and 71.5%, respectively, at 120°C with a 1:6M ratio of ChCl-glycolic acid. In contrast, ChCl-formic acid resulted in the greatest level of glucan retention, at 97.8%, with a lignin removal rate of 40.7% under the same pretreatment conditions. Moreover, ChCl loading could significantly enhance the selectivity of carboxylic acid for lignin dissolution. A 98.0% level of subsequent enzymatic saccharification and a 100% ethanol yield were achieved after ChCl-formic acid pretreatments of Akebia' herbal residues.

Characterization of a β-glucosidase from Paenibacillus species and its application for succinic acid production from sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate

In this study, a β-glucosidase from Paenibacillus sp. M1 was expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3), purified and characterized. The specific activity of purified BglA was 137.64U·mg^-1 protein with optimal temperature and pH of 50°C and 6.0. Furthermore, BglA shows excellent adaption to various environmental factors such as temperature, pH and metal ions. Engineered E. coli Suc260 was further reconstructed by overexpressing the β-glucosidase for achieving direct cellobiose utilization, which could efficiently utilize the pretreated sugarcane bagasses hydrolysate (SBH) consisting of 25.30g·L^-1 cellobiose, 9.70g·L^-1 glucose, 5.90g·L^-1 arabinose and 7.10g·L^-1 xylose. As a result, 26.50g·L^-1 and 24.30g·L^-1 succinic acid were produced by strain Suc260(pTbglA) from cellobiose and SBH with corresponding yields of 88.30% and 89.20% using dual-phase fermentation, respectively. This study indicated that incomplete enzymatic hydrolysate of SCB will be a potential feedstock for succinic acid production.

Over production of fermentable sugar for bioethanol production from carbohydrate-rich Malaysian food waste via sequential acid-enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatment

In Malaysia, the amount of food waste produced is estimated at approximately 70% of total municipal solid waste generated and characterised by high amount of carbohydrate polymers such as starch, cellulose, and sugars. Considering the beneficial organic fraction contained, its utilization as an alternative substrate specifically for bioethanol production has receiving more attention. However, the sustainable production of bioethanol from food waste is linked to the efficient pretreatment needed for higher production of fermentable sugar prior to fermentation. In this work, a modified sequential acid-enzymatic hydrolysis process has been developed to produce high concentration of fermentable sugars; glucose, sucrose, fructose and maltose. The process started with hydrothermal and dilute acid pretreatment by hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) which aim to degrade larger molecules of polysaccharide before accessible for further steps of enzymatic hydrolysis by glucoamylase. A kinetic model is proposed to perform an optimal hydrolysis for obtaining high fermentable sugars. The results suggested that a significant increase in fermentable sugar production (2.04-folds) with conversion efficiency of 86.8% was observed via sequential acid-enzymatic pretreatment as compared to dilute acid pretreatment (∼42.4% conversion efficiency). The bioethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae utilizing fermentable sugar obtained shows ethanol yield of 0.42g/g with conversion efficiency of 85.38% based on the theoretical yield was achieved. The finding indicates that food waste can be considered as a promising substrate for bioethanol production.

Co-extraction of soluble and insoluble sugars from energy sorghum based on a hydrothermal hydrolysis process

A process for co-extraction of soluble and insoluble sugars from energy sorghum (ES) was developed based on hydrothermal hydrolysis (HH). Two series of ES were investigated: one (N) with a high biomass yield displayed a higher recalcitrance to sugar release, whereas the second (T) series was characterized by high sugar extraction. The highest total xylose recoveries of 87.2% and 98.7% were obtained for N-11 and T-106 under hydrolysis conditions of 180°C for 50min and 180°C for 30min, respectively. Moreover, the T series displayed higher enzymatic digestibility (ED) than the N series. The high degree of branching (arabinose/xylose ratio) and acetyl groups in the hemicellulose chains of T-106 would be expected to accelerate sugar release during the HH process. In addition, negative correlations between ED and the lignin content, crystallinity index (CrI) and syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) lignin ratio were observed. Furthermore, finding ways to overcome the thickness of the cell wall and heterogeneity of its chemical composition distribution would make cellulose more accessible to the enzyme.

Co-generation of microbial lipid and bio-butanol from corn cob bagasse in an environmentally friendly biorefinery process

Biorefinery process of corn cob bagasse was investigated by integrating microbial lipid and ABE fermentation. The effects of NaOH concentration on the fermentations performance were evaluated. The black liquor after pretreatment was used as substrate for microbial lipid fermentation, while the enzymatic hydrolysates of the bagasse were used for ABE fermentation. The results demonstrated that under the optimized condition, the cellulose and hemicellulose in raw material could be effectively utilized. Approximate 87.7% of the polysaccharides were converted into valuable biobased products (∼175.7g/kg of ABE along with ∼36.6g/kg of lipid). At the same time, almost half of the initial COD (∼48.9%) in the black liquor could be degraded. The environmentally friendly biorefinery process showed promising in maximizing the utilization of biomass for future biofuels production.

Enhanced enzymatic saccharification of sugarcane bagasse pretreated by combining O2 and NaOH

Sugarcane bagasse pretreated by combining O2 and NaOH with different variables was conducted to improve its enzymatic digestibility and sugar recovery, and the results were compared with sole NaOH pretreatment. Lignin removal for O2-NaOH pretreatment was around 10% higher than that for sole NaOH pretreatment under the same conditions, and O2-NaOH pretreatment resulted in higher glucan recovery in the solid remain. Subsequently, O2-NaOH pretreated sugarcane bagasse presented more efficient enzymatic digestibility than sole NaOH pretreatment. Under the moderate pretreatment conditions of combining 1% NaOH and 0.5MPa O2 at 80°C for 120min, a high glucan conversion of 95% was achieved after 48h enzymatic hydrolysis. Coupled with the operations of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, an admirable total sugar recovery of 89% (glucose recovery of 93% and xylose recovery of 84%) was obtained. The susceptibility of the substrates to enzymatic digestibility was explained by their physical and chemical characteristics.

Genetic modification of plant cell walls to enhance biomass yield and biofuel production in bioenergy crops

Plant cell walls represent an enormous biomass resource for the generation of biofuels and chemicals. As lignocellulose property principally determines biomass recalcitrance, the genetic modification of plant cell walls has been posed as a powerful solution. Here, we review recent progress in understanding the effects of distinct cell wall polymers (cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, pectin, wall proteins) on the enzymatic digestibility of biomass under various physical and chemical pretreatments in herbaceous grasses, major agronomic crops and fast-growing trees. We also compare the main factors of wall polymer features, including cellulose crystallinity (CrI), hemicellulosic Xyl/Ara ratio, monolignol proportion and uronic acid level. Furthermore, the review presents the main gene candidates, such as CesA, GH9, GH10, GT61, GT43 etc., for potential genetic cell wall modification towards enhancing both biomass yield and enzymatic saccharification in genetic mutants and transgenic plants. Regarding cell wall modification, it proposes a novel groove-like cell wall model that highlights to increase amorphous regions (density and depth) of the native cellulose microfibrils, providing a general strategy for bioenergy crop breeding and biofuel processing technology.

Secretome analysis of Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus niger cultivated by submerged and sequential fermentation processes: Enzyme production for sugarcane bagasse hydrolysis

Cellulases and hemicellulases from Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus niger have been shown to be powerful enzymes for biomass conversion to sugars, but the production costs are still relatively high for commercial application. The choice of an effective microbial cultivation process employed for enzyme production is important, since it may affect titers and the profile of protein secretion. We used proteomic analysis to characterize the secretome of T. reesei and A. niger cultivated in submerged and sequential fermentation processes. The information gained was key to understand differences in hydrolysis of steam exploded sugarcane bagasse for enzyme cocktails obtained from two different cultivation processes. The sequential process for cultivating A. niger gave xylanase and β-glucosidase activities 3- and 8-fold higher, respectively, than corresponding activities from the submerged process. A greater protein diversity of critical cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes were also observed through secretome analyses. These results helped to explain the 3-fold higher yield for hydrolysis of non-washed pretreated bagasse when combined T. reesei and A. niger enzyme extracts from sequential fermentation were used in place of enzymes obtained from submerged fermentation. An enzyme loading of 0.7 FPU cellulase activity/g glucan was surprisingly effective when compared to the 5-15 times more enzyme loadings commonly reported for other cellulose hydrolysis studies. Analyses showed that more than 80% consisted of proteins other than cellulases whose role is important to the hydrolysis of a lignocellulose substrate. Our work combined proteomic analyses and enzymology studies to show that sequential and submerged cultivation methods differently influence both titers and secretion profile of key enzymes required for the hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse. The higher diversity of feruloyl esterases, xylanases and other auxiliary hemicellulolytic enzymes observed in the enzyme mixtures from the sequential fermentation could be one major reason for the more efficient enzyme hydrolysis that results when using the combined secretomes from A. niger and T. reesei.

Liquid hot water pretreatment of energy grasses and its influence of physico-chemical changes on enzymatic digestibility

Pennisetum hybrid I, II and switchgrass were pretreated with liquid hot water to enhance the release of sugars. The optimum hydrolysis factor for three energy grasses was 5.98, and the total xylose yield was 88.4%, 98.1% and 83.6% for grass I, II and S. It was indicated that the ratio of syringyl and guaiacyl units of lignin played an important role on the hemicellulose hydrolysis in LHW than branch degree, but latter contributed more on the characterization of xylooligomers degree of polymerization. Moreover, the analysis of multi-scale changes of substrate suggested that cellulose crystallinity index and degree of polymerization seemed no direct relationships for increase of enzymatic digestibility. While lignin barrier was the main factor limiting efficiency of sugar release, and Pennisetum hybrid with low lignin content and high sugar recovery was proved to be a prospective plant feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production.

Liquid hot water pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production accompanying with high valuable products

Pretreatment is an essential prerequisite to overcome recalcitrance of biomass and enhance the ethanol conversion efficiency of polysaccharides. Compared with other pretreatment methods, liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment not only reduces the downstream pressure by making cellulose more accessible to the enzymes but minimizes the formation of degradation products that inhibit the growth of fermentative microorganisms. Herein, this review summarized the improved LHW process for different biomass feedstocks, the decomposition behavior of biomass in the LHW process, the enzymatic hydrolysis of LHW-treated substrates, and production of high value-added products and ethanol. Moreover, a combined process producing ethanol and high value-added products was proposed basing on the works of Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion to make LHW pretreatment acceptable in the biorefinery of cellulosic ethanol.

Pretreatment and conversion of lignocellulose biomass into valuable chemicals

Lignocellulose biomass can be utilized in many sectors of industry such as energy, chemical, and transportation. However, pretreatment is needed to break down the intricate bonding before converting it into wanted product.

Influence of lignin level on release of hemicellulose-derived sugars in liquid hot water

Lignin layers surrounding hemicelluloses and cellulose in the plant cell walls protect them from deconstruction. This recalcitrance to sugar release is a major limitation for cost-effective industrial conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels. Many literatures had reported the contribution of lignin removal to cellulose accessibility to enzyme, but less to the hemicellulose hydrolysis. Herein, beech xylan with lignin addition, partly delignified sugarcane bagasse (SB), energy sorghum hybrids (ESH) were treated in liquid hot water (LHW) to investigate the effect of lignin on hemicellulose decomposition. The addition of lignin can enhance the low degree of polymerization of xylooligomers production resulted from the acid catalyzed cleavage of lignin-derived acidic products. However, a negative correlation was observed initially between the lignin level and the total xylose yield from ESH. Furthermore, samples with lignin addition or high lignin content had a great resistant to harsh reaction environment, about 93.5% total xylose lost but only 52.3% released due to the lack of lignin protection for the sample with 100% lignin removal.

Hydrothermal acid treatment for sugar extraction from Golenkinia sp

In this study, hydrothermal acid treatment for efficient recovery of sugar from Golenkinia sp. was investigated. The initial glucose and XMG (xylose, mannose, and galactose) contents of a prepared Golenkinia sp. solution (40g/L) were 15.05 and 5.24g/L, respectively. The microalgal cell walls were hydrolyzed, for sugar recovery, by enzymatic saccharification and/or hydrothermal acid treatment. Among the various hydrothermal acid treatment conditions, the most optimal were the 2.0% H2SO4 concentration at 150°C for 15min, under which the glucose- and XMG-extraction yields were 71.7% and 64.9%, respectively. By pH 4.8, 50°C enzymatic hydrolysis after optimal hydrothermal acid treatment, the glucose- and XMG-extraction yields were additionally increased by 8.3% and 0.8%, respectively. After hydrothermal acid treatment, the combination with the enzymatic hydrolysis process improved the total sugar yield of Golenkinia sp. to 75.4%.

Structural characterisation of pretreated solids from flow-through liquid hot water treatment of sugarcane bagasse in a fixed-bed reactor

Untreated sugarcane bagasse and sugarcane bagasse pretreated with flow-through liquid hot water (LHW) treatment (170-207°C and 204-250 ml/min) in a fixed-bed reactor have been structurally characterised. Field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate changes in the residues, in particular due to the fate of lignin. FEG-SEM results show that the LHW treatment modified the surface morphology of the pretreated bagasse with lignin droplets being observed on the fibre surface. TEM showed an increase in the plant cell wall porosity and lignin migration across the plant cell wall. Increases in pretreatment temperature were observed to increase the average size and density of lignin droplets on the fibre surface. The results provide evidence that for LHW flow-through treatment, just as for batch treatment, lignin repolymerisation and deposition on the surface of pretreated sugarcane bagasse is an important consideration.

Rapid dissolution of switchgrass in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride by ultrasonication

The utilization of ultrasonics to rapidly dissolve switchgrass in ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim][Cl]) was evaluated in this work. The objective of the study focused on determining the effects of various ultrasonic conditions on the recovery of carbohydrate from biomass, lignin removal, and enzymatic hydrolysis. Dried ground switchgrass was added to ionic liquid, then sonicated at a frequency of 20kHz. The experiments were conducted using a catenoidal horn at varying amplitudes of 96μm, 128μm, and 160μm and sonication times of 2, 3, and 4min. Similarly, ground switchgrass was dissolved in ionic liquid assisted by conventional heat treatment at 130°C for 12 and 24h. The results showed good delignification results of 53% for the 24h heat pretreated samples and of 50.8% for ultrasonic assisted samples at 160μm amplitude and 4min. Even in the presence of lignin in the recovered biopolymer, both of heat treated and ultrasonicated samples obtained 100% glucan digestibility after only 3h of enzymatic hydrolysis. Heat pretreated samples exhibited 44-59% lower xylan digestibility compared to ultrasonic pretreated samples (160μm amplitude and 4min sonication time). Scanning electron microscope images displayed significant changes in biomass structure from intact and crystalline of the untreated biomass to disintegrated and amorphous of the treated biomass (heat treated and ultrasonicated). With increasing ultrasonic amplitude the carbohydrate recovery decreased. Also, more than 50% of the hemicellulose fraction was lost during biomass recovery. Overall, it was concluded that ultrasonication was a promising technology to enhance dissolution of lignocellulose in ionic liquid.

Acid-catalyzed hot-water extraction of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich lipids from Aurantiochytrium sp. KRS101

In this study, acid-catalyzed hot-water extraction of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich lipids from Aurantiochytrium sp. was performed, and its yield-enhancing effects were investigated. The total fatty acid content of the Aurantiochytrium sp. was 482.5mg/g cell, of which 141.7mg/g cell (29.4% of total fatty acids) was DHA. The lipid-extraction yield by acid-catalyzed hot-water treatment was compared with those by organic solvents. Among the various acid-catalyzed hot-water treatment conditions, the most optimal were 1.00% H2SO4 concentration, 100°C, 30min, under which the lipid-extraction yield was 472.4mg/g cell, and most of the DHA was extracted (29.2% of total fatty acids). Acid-catalyzed hot-water extraction treatment markedly improved the lipid-extraction yield of Aurantiochytrium sp.

Characteristics of corn stover pretreated with liquid hot water and fed-batch semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation for bioethanol production

Corn stover is a promising feedstock for bioethanol production because of its abundant availability in China. To obtain higher ethanol concentration and higher ethanol yield, liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment and fed-batch semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (S-SSF) were used to enhance the enzymatic digestibility of corn stover and improve bioconversion of cellulose to ethanol. The results show that solid residues from LHW pretreatment of corn stover can be effectively converted into ethanol at severity factors ranging from 3.95 to 4.54, and the highest amount of xylan removed was approximately 89%. The ethanol concentrations of 38.4 g/L and 39.4 g/L as well as ethanol yields of 78.6% and 79.7% at severity factors of 3.95 and 4.54, respectively, were obtained by fed-batch S-SSF in an optimum conditions (initial substrate consistency of 10%, and 6.1% solid residues added into system at the prehydrolysis time of 6 h). The changes in surface morphological structure, specific surface area, pore volume and diameter of corn stover subjected to LHW process were also analyzed for interpreting the possible improvement mechanism.

Acid-catalyzed hot-water extraction of lipids from Chlorella vulgaris

Acid-catalyzed hot-water treatment for efficient extraction of lipids from a wet microalga, Chlorella vulgaris, was investigated. For an initial fatty acids content of 381.6mg/g cell, the extracted-lipid yield with no heating and no catalyst was 83.2mg/g cell. Under a 1% H2SO4 concentration heated at 120°C for 60min, however, the lipid-extraction yield was 337.4mg/g cell. The fatty acids content, meanwhile, was 935mg fatty acid/g lipid. According to the severity index formula, 337.5mg/g cell of yield under the 1% H2SO4 concentration heated at 150°C for 8min, and 334.2mg/g cell of yield under the 0.5% H2SO4 concentration heated at 150°C for 16min, were obtained. The lipids extracted by acid-catalyzed hot-water treatment were converted to biodiesel. The biodiesel's fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) content after esterification of the microalgal lipids was increased to 79.2% by the addition of excess methanol and sulfuric acid.

Pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse with liquid hot water and aqueous ammonia

Low water consumption operation (LWCO) can reduce the usage of water and energy input for the liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse (SB) but causes great negative effects on the saccharification rate of xylose and enzymatic digestibility (ED) of cellulose. Therefore, a combined pretreatment with LHW and aqueous ammonia (LHWAA) was developed. ED of glucan and xylan is enhanced greatly resulted from the removal of hemicellulose and lignin after the LHWAA pretreatment. However, the intriguing results of low lignin removal and ED value were observed at the high reaction temperature of 180°C for the second step pretreatment of AA. It was proposed that lignin or pseudo-lignin droplet redeposited on the surface of residual solids might play a crucial role in determining the ED, so it is indispensable to make the enzyme access to the cellulose by the step of post-treatment with ultrasonic washing or hot washing. Coupled with the process of post-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, a high hemicellulose derived sugars recovery of 75.5% and glucose recovery of 87% was obtained for LHWAA pretreatment.