Pretreatment and hydrolysis methods for recovery of fermentable sugars from de-oiled Jatropha waste

Influence of Novel EnZolv Pretreatment on the Release of Reducing Sugar and Proximate Content of Banana Fiber

Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) from agriculture residues has gained a lot of attention in recent years for its conversion to useful by-products. The one drawback that the conversion of biomass faces is its recalcitrant nature which can be overcome by effective pretreatment technology. One such process is the EnZolv, a novel pretreatment technique used for delignification of biomass and it was recognized as an eco-friendly approach. The main objective of our present study is to optimize the novel EnZolv process parameters for enhanced release of reducing sugar from banana fiber. Banana fiber pre-optimization for EnZolv pretreated at 100% moisture content, incubated at 40 °C temperature, with an enzyme load of 50 U·g-1 of biomass for an incubation time of 5 h at a shaking speed of 100 rpm yielded enhanced sugar release of 1.7 mg·mL-1. The effect of pretreatment on proximate composition results in a decrease in the volatile matter (53%) and moisture percentage (1.07%) and an increase in the other parameters such as ash content (12%) and fixed carbon content (34%) under the optimized condition. A significantly higher release of phenol content 1264 µg·mL-1 equivalent to gallic acid suggests that EnZolv pretreatment confirms the degradation of lignin content in the biomass.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12088-023-01130-4.

Influence of confectionery wastewater pretreatment in vortex layer apparatus on its physical and chemical properties

The paper studies the effect of pretreatment of highly concentrated wastewater from confectionery production in a vortex layer apparatus (VLA) on its physical and chemical properties, with the aim of its further use as a substrate for dark fermentation with the production of biohydrogen. Pretreatment in VLA resulted in a 2.6-fold increase in the iron content and 6.5% increase in soluble chemical oxygen demand after 3 minutes of exposure. After pretreatment in VLA, an increase in the content of acetic acid and a decrease in the contents of propionic, butyric and caproic acids were observed. An increase in the content of mono- and disaccharides was registered, and the effect of the VLA exposure time of confectionery wastewater on its physicochemical properties was studied. An increase in the concentration of iron and simple sugars in wastewater makes the use of VLA promising for improving the process of its subsequent dark fermentation.

Evaluation of cadmium biosorption property of de-oiled palm kernel cake

Cadmium contamination is a global concern because of its widespread nature of polluting both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystem. Though many natural, chemical/synthetic components have been researched for remediation of cadmium, development of an eco-friendly, economic biosorbent still remains a challenge. Deoiled palm kernel cake (DOPC), a byproduct from palm-oil mills was investigated in the present study for its cadmium remediating capacity. DOPC was immobilized using sodium alginate polymer and biosorption studies were carried out using DOPC as adsorbent for removal of cadmium. Research revealed biosorption potential of DOPC and the optimum conditions for maximum biosorption of cadmium have been identified as 120 min of contact time, 150 rpm of agitation speed, pH 6 and 15 mg/L of initial cadmium concentration. Maximum percentage of adsorption was 99% by using 1.5 g/100 ml of adsorbent. The adsorption equilibrium data Biosorbent was characterized before and after adsorption by FTIR which showed the involvement of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amino-groups. Statement of novelty Cadmium pollution and the leading environmental problems is a global concern. Despite various attempts for development of different matrices for remediation of cadmium from contaminated samples, application of deoiled palm kernel cake (DOPC) as a biosorbent is not being explored. Present study provides quantitative data relating the richness of phytochemical repertoire DOPC possess, its resulting radical scavenging potential and its applications as an efficient, eco-friendly and economic alternative as a biosorbent matrix material for cadmium bio-remediation.

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.

Ultrasound-assisted biological conversion of biomass and waste materials to biofuels: A review

Ultrasound irradiation has been gaining increasing interests over the years to assist biological conversion of lignocellulosic biomass and waste materials to biofuels. As such, this study reviewed the different effects of sonication on pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass and waste materials prior to biofuel production. The mechanisms of ultrasound irradiation as a pre-treatment technique were initially described and the impacts of sonication on disruption of lignocellulosic materials, alteration of the crystalline lattice structure of cellulose molecules, solubilisation of organic matter, reducing sugar production and enzymatic hydrolysis were then reviewed. Subsequently, the influences of ultrasound irradiation on bio-methane, bio-hydrogen and bio-ethanol production were re-evaluated, with most studies reporting enhanced biofuel production from anaerobic digestion or fermentation processes. Nonetheless, despite its positive impacts on biofuel production, sonication was found to be energetically inefficient based on the lab-scale studies reviewed. To conclude, this study reviewed some of the challenges of ultrasound irradiation for enhanced biofuel production while outlining some areas for further research.

Ultrasound-assisted alkaline pretreatment for enhancing the enzymatic hydrolysis of rice straw by using the heat energy dissipated from ultrasonication

Rice straw samples were exposed to ultrasound-assisted alkaline (NaOH) pretreatment by using the heat energy dissipated from ultrasonication to increase their enzymatic digestibility for saccharification. The characterization shows that the pretreatment could selectively remove lignin and hemicellulose without degrading cellulose, and increase porosity and surface area of rice straw. The porosity, surface area and cellulose content of rice straw increased with the increasing concentration of NaOH used. The rice straw sample pretreated by using the heat energy dissipated from ultrasonication has a higher surface area and a lower crystallinity index value than that pretreated by using the external source of heating, and the amount of reducing sugar released from the former sample at 48h of enzymatic saccharification, which is about 3.5 times as large as that from the untreated rice straw sample (2.91vs. 0.85gL^-1), is slightly larger than that from the latter sample (2.91vs. 2.73gL^-1). The ultrasound-assisted alkaline pretreatment by using the heat energy dissipated from ultrasonication was proved to be a reliable and effective method for rice straw pretreatment.

n-Butanol production from sucrose and sugarcane juice by engineered Clostridium tyrobutyricum overexpressing sucrose catabolism genes and adhE2

The production of n-butanol from sugarcane juice by metabolically engineered Clostridium tyrobutyricum Ct(Δack)-pscrBAK overexpressing scr operon genes (scrB, scrA, and scrK) for sucrose catabolism and an aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase gene (adhE2) for butanol biosynthesis was studied with corn steep liquor (CSL) as a low-cost nitrogen source. In free cell fermentation, butanol production of ∼16g/L at a yield of 0.31±0.02g/g and productivity of 0.33±0.02g/L·h was obtained from sucrose and yield of 0.24±0.02g/g and productivity of 0.30±0.01g/L·h from sugarcane juice containing sucrose, glucose and fructose. The fermentation was also studied in a fibrous bed bioreactor (FBB) operated in a repeated batch mode for 10 consecutive cycles in 10days, achieving an average butanol yield of 0.21±0.02g/g and productivity of 0.53±0.05g/L·h from sugarcane juice, demonstrating its long-term stability without applying the antibiotic selection pressure.

Lignocellulosic butanol production from Napier grass using semi-simultaneous saccharification fermentation

Napier grass is a potential feedstock for biofuel production because of its strong adaptability and wide availability. Compositional analysis has been done on Napier grass which was collected from a local area of Taiwan. By comparing acid- and alkali-pretreatment, it was found that the alkali-pretreatment process is favorable for Napier grass. An overall glucose yield of 0.82g/g-glucose_total can be obtained with the combination of alkali-pretreatment (2.5wt% NaOH, 8wt% sample loading, 121°C, and a reaction time of 40min) and enzymatic hydrolysis (40FPU/g-substrate). Semi-simultaneous saccharification fermentation (sSSF) was carried out, where enzymatic hydrolysis and ABE fermentation were operated in the same batch. It was found that after 24-h hydrolysis, followed by 96-h fermentation, the butanol and acetone concentrations reached 9.45 and 4.85g/L, respectively. The butanol yield reached 0.22g/g-sugar_{glucose+xylose}. Finally, the efficiency of butanol production from Napier grass was calculated at 31%.

Batch and semi-continuous anaerobic co-digestion of goose manure with alkali solubilized wheat straw: A case of carbon to nitrogen ratio and organic loading rate regression optimization

The present study focused on carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) and organic loading rate (OLR) optimization of goose manure (GM) and wheat straw (WS). Dealing the anaerobic digestion of poultry manure on industrial scale; the question of optimum C/N (mixing ratio) and OLR (daily feeding concentration) have significant importance still lack in literature. Therefore, Batch and CSTR co-digestion experiments of the GM and WS were carried out at mesophilic condition. The alkali (NaOH) solubilization pretreatment for the WS had greatly enhanced its anaerobic digestibility. The highest methane production was evaluated between the C/N of 20-30 during Batch experimentation while for CSTRs; the second applied OLR of (3g.VS/L.d) was proved as the optimum with maximum methane production capability of 254.65ml/g.VS for reactor B at C/N of 25. The C/N and OLR regression optimization models were developed for their commercial scale usefulness.

Enhanced mannan-derived fermentable sugars of palm kernel cake by mannanase-catalyzed hydrolysis for production of biobutanol

Catalytic depolymerization of mannan composition of palm kernel cake (PKC) by mannanase was optimized to enhance the release of mannan-derived monomeric sugars for further application in acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation. Efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of PKC was studied by evaluating effects of PKC concentration, mannanase loading, hydrolysis pH value, reaction temperature and hydrolysis time on production of fermentable sugars using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA results revealed that all factors studied had highly significant effects on total sugar liberated (P<0.01). The optimum conditions for PKC hydrolysis were 20% (w/v) PKC concentration, 5% (w/w) mannanase loading, hydrolysis pH 4.5, 45°C temperature and 72h hydrolysis time. Enzymatic experiments in optimum conditions revealed total fermentable sugars of 71.54±2.54g/L were produced including 67.47±2.51g/L mannose and 2.94±0.03g/L glucose. ABE fermentation of sugar hydrolysate by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 resulted in 3.27±1.003g/L biobutanol.

A review on bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to H2: Key challenges and new insights

With the increasing energy crisis and rising concern over climate change, the development of clean alternative energy sources is of great importance. Biohydrogen produced from lignocellulosic biomass is a promising candidate, because of its positives such as readily available, no harmful emissions, environment friendly, efficient, and renewable. However, obstacles still exist to enable the commercialization of biological hydrogen production from lignocellulosic biomass. Thus the objective of this work is to provide update information about the recent progress on lignocellulosic hydrogen conversion via dark fermentation. In this review, the most important technologies associated with lignocellulosic hydrogen fermentation were covered. Firstly, pretreatment methods for better utilization of lignocellulosic biomass are presented, at the same time, hydrolysis methods assisting to achieve efficient hydrogen fermentation were discussed. Afterwards, issues related to bioprocesses for hydrogen production purposes were presented. Additionally, the paper gave challenges and new insights of lignocellulosic biohydrogen production.

Biological processes for advancing lignocellulosic waste biorefinery by advocating circular economy

The actualization of a circular economy through the use of lignocellulosic wastes as renewable resources can lead to reduce the dependence from fossil-based resources and contribute to a sustainable waste management. The integrated biorefineries, exploiting the overall lignocellulosic waste components to generate fuels, chemicals and energy, are the pillar of the circular economy. The biological treatment is receiving great attention for the biorefinery development since it is considered an eco-friendly alternative to the physico-chemical strategies to increase the biobased product recovery from wastes and improve saccharification and fermentation yields. This paper reviews the last advances in the biological treatments aimed at upgrading lignocellulosic wastes, implementing the biorefinery concept and advocating circular economy.

A novel and simple approach to the good process performance of methane recovery from lignocellulosic biomass alone

BACKGROUND

Solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) has been increasingly used for lignocellulosic biomass treatment. However, the separate reactor required for pretreatment prior digestion, poor treatment capacity, and process stability inhibit further development of the SS-AD. In this study, a novel method called SS-AD with simultaneous urea treatment and soil addition was proposed. The process performance of methane yield from rape straw was investigated by adopting the method.

RESULTS

The results show that the process performance of methane yield from rape straw using the method was better. The level of daily methane yield and the process stability were improved. The time required for reaching steady state was 6 days shorter than that of the common method (SS-AD and urea pretreatment), and the methane content in a stable-state level was 77.5-80.1 %. The total methane yield [409.6 L/kg volatile solids (VS)] was the maximal after using the method, which was 22.6 and 76.8 % higher than those of SS-AD with urea pretreatment and SS-AD with simultaneous urea treatment, respectively. In addition, the carbon dioxide content was reduced significantly. Degradation of feedstock was high; the highest reductions of VS, cellulose, and hemicellulose were 57.1, 61.4, and 65.8 %, respectively, which were in accordance with the maximal methane yield. SEM images also indicate that the biodegradation degree of rape straw in SS-AD was in line with methane yield.

CONCLUSIONS

The process performance of SS-AD of lignocellulosic biomass (rape straw) with simultaneous urea treatment and soil addition was better. This simplified, low cost, and efficient method has good practicability, which can try to be used for other types of lignocellulosic biomass.

Batch and continuous biogenic hydrogen fermentation of acid pretreated de-oiled jatropha waste (DJW) hydrolysate

In an attempt to tailor the efficient hydrogen fermentation from hydrochloric acid-pretreated hydrolysate of de-oiled jatropha waste (DJW), batch tests were conducted to find the optimal hydrolysate concentration, temperature and pH.

Changes in performance and bacterial communities in response to various process disturbances in a high-rate biohydrogen reactor fed with galactose

High-rate biohydrogen production was achieved via hybrid immobilized cells fed with galactose in a continuous reactor system. The hybrid immobilized cells were broken down after 20 days and began to form granules by self-aggregation. The peak hydrogen production rate (HPR) and hydrogen yield (HY) of 11.8 ± 0.6 LH2/L-d and 2.1 ± 0.1 mol H2/molgalactose(added), respectively, were achieved at the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8h with an organic loading rate (OLR) of 45 g/L-d. This is the highest yet reported for the employment of galactose in a continuous system. Various process disturbances including shock loading, acidification, alkalization and starvation were examined through bacterial community analysis via pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA genes. The proportion of Clostridia increased during the stable biohydrogen production periods, while that of Bacilli increased when the reactor was disturbed. However, due to the stability of the self-aggregated granules, the process performance was regained within 4-7 days.