Saccharification of ozonated sugarcane bagasse using enzymes from Myceliophthora thermophila JCP 1-4 for sugars release and ethanol production

Non-conventional yeast strains: Unexploited resources for effective commercialization of second generation bioethanol

The conventional yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is the most studied yeast and has been used in many important industrial productions, especially in bioethanol production from first generation feedstock (sugar and starchy biomass). However, for reduced cost and to avoid competition with food, second generation bioethanol, which is produced from lignocellulosic feedstock, is now being investigated. Production of second generation bioethanol involves pre-treatment and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to sugar monomers containing, amongst others, d-glucose and D-xylose. Intrinsically, S. cerevisiae strains lack the ability to ferment pentose sugars and genetic engineering of S. cerevisiae to inculcate the ability to ferment pentose sugars is ongoing to develop recombinant strains with the required stability and robustness for commercial second generation bioethanol production. Furthermore, pre-treatment of these lignocellulosic wastes leads to the release of inhibitory compounds which adversely affect the growth and fermentation by S. cerevisae. S. cerevisiae also lacks the ability to grow at high temperatures which favour Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation of substrates to bioethanol. There is, therefore, a need for robust yeast species which can co-ferment hexose and pentose sugars and can tolerate high temperatures and the inhibitory substances produced during pre-treatment and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials. Non-conventional yeast strains are potential solutions to these problems due to their abilities to ferment both hexose and pentose sugars, and tolerate high temperature and stress conditions encountered during ethanol production from lignocellulosic hydrolysate. This review highlights the limitations of the conventional yeast species and the potentials of non-conventional yeast strains in commercialization of second generation bioethanol.

Dilute acid pretreatment for enhancing the enzymatic saccharification of agroresidues using a Botrytis ricini endoglucanase

The enormous amount of agroindustrial residues generated in Brazil can be used as biomass to produce fermentable sugars. This study compared the pretreatments with different proportions of dilute acid. The method involved pretreatment with 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% (v/v) sulfuric acid, followed by hydrolysis using the halotolerant and thermostable endoglucanase from Botrytis ricini URM 5627. The physicochemical characterization of plant biomass was performed using XRD, FTIR, and SEM. The pretreatment significantly increased the production of fermentable sugars following enzymatic saccharification from wheat bran, sugarcane bagasse, and rice husk: 153.67%, 91.98%, and 253.21% increment in sugar production; 36.39 mg⋅g^-1 ± 1.23, 39.55 mg⋅g^-1 ± 1.70, and 42.53 mg⋅g^-1 ± 7.61 mg⋅L^-1 of glucose; and 3.26 ± 0.35 mg⋅g^-1 , 3.61mg⋅g^-1 ± 0.74 and 3.59 mg⋅g^-1 ± 0.80 of fructose were produced, respectively. In conclusion, biomass should preferably be pretreated before the enzymatic saccharification using B. ricini URM 5627 endoglucanase.

Saccharification of acid-alkali pretreated sugarcane bagasse using immobilized enzymes from Phomopsis stipata

In this study, a mild-temperature two-step dilute acid and alkaline pretreatment (DA-AL) process was developed to generate highly digestible cellulose pulp from sugarcane bagasse for producing fermentable sugars by novel thermophilic cellulases derived from Phomopsis stipata SC 04. First, DA pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse at 2% (w/v) H2SO4 and 121 °C for 71 min, followed by AL pretreatment at 2.2% (w/v) NaOH and 110 °C for 100 min led to the pulp containing 86% cellulose. The cellulose pulp was hydrolyzed by the immobilized P. stipata cellulase on Ca-alginate beads, following optimization of immobilization conditions. The results showed that mixing the cellulase extract and sodium alginate solutions at a volume ratio of 1:4 led to the highest immobilization efficiencies of 99.83% for β-glucosidase and 97.52% for endoglucanase while the enzyme leakage was the lowest. The use of the immobilized cellulases led to a cellulose digestibility of 30% in the initial batch and recycling of the immobilized cellulases reduced cellulose digestibility to 18% after s recycling for two times (a total of third rounds). Overall, this study provides useful information in the use of a mild pretreatment process to produce highly digestible cellulose pulp and in the immobilization of thermophilic cellulases to produce fermentable sugars from pretreated biomass.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-03101-2.

Ethanol Production and Other Bioproducts by Galactomyces geotrichum from Sugarcane Bagasse Hydrolysate

This study investigated the enzymatic saccharification of alkaline-pretreated sugarcane bagasse (PSB) and the bioconversion of simple sugars from hydrolysates to ethanol and other bioproducts by the yeast Galactomyces geotrichum. The effects of percentage of dry substrate (3 and 10% w/v) and time of hydrolysis (24 and 72 h) in the content of released sugars were evaluated. The concentrations of monosaccharides and total reducing sugars (TRS) were calculated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and by 3.5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method, respectively. The highest concentrations of TRS, glucose and xylose (73.96, 31.78 and 10.85 g/L, respectively) were obtained after the saccharification of 10% of PSB with Cellic CTec3 multi-enzyme cocktail (10 FPU/g cellulose) during 72 h (hydrolysate IV). G. geotrichum UFVJM-R150 fermented both glucose and xylose from the hydrolysates. The most efficient ethanol production was obtained after the fermentation of hydrolysate IV (9.99 g/L of ethanol, volumetric productivity-Q_P of 0.42 g/L.h and yield of ethanol as a function of the substrate-Y_P/S of 0.27 g_ethanol/g_sugar). Besides ethanol, G. geotrichum was also able to produce other high-value chemicals such as isoamyl alcohol and galacturonic acid. This is the first report of the potential of the yeast G. geotrichum to fermentate sugarcane bagasse hydrolysates with the production of important bioproducts to further use by biorefineries.

Bioethanol from sugarcane bagasse: Focused on optimum of lignin content and reduction of enzyme addition

To investigate the effect of delignification on enzymatic saccharification and ethanol fermentation of sugarcane bagasse (SCB), NaClO, NaOH, and Na₂CO₃ were used to prepare SCB with different lignin contents. We found that a lignin content of approximately 11% was sufficient for enzymatic saccharification and fermentation. Based on this result, an economical delignification pretreatment method using a combination of acid and alkali (CAA) was applied. Lignin content of 11.7% was obtained after CAA pretreatment with 0.5% w/v H₂SO₄ at 140 °C for 10 min and 1.0% w/v NaOH at 90 °C for 60 min. Presaccharification-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (P-SSF) of the CAA-pretreated SCB resulted in an ethanol concentration of 43.8 g/L and an ethanol yield of 81.7%, with an enzyme loading of 15 FPU/g-CAA-pretreated SCB. Enzyme activities (filter paper, carboxymethyl cellulase, and β-glucosidase activities) were determined in liquid phase during P-SSF, indicating that the residual cellulase activity could be further used. Thus, fed-batch P-SSF was carried out, and an ethanol concentration of 43.1 g/L and an ethanol yield of 80.4% were obtained with an enzyme loading of 10 FPU/g-CAA-pretreated SCB. Fed-batch P-SSF was found to be effective to reduce enzyme loading.

Pilot scale repeated fed-batch fermentation processes of the wine yeast Dekkera bruxellensis for mass production of resveratrol from Polygonum cuspidatum

Resveratrol has long been used as an ingredient in functional foods. Currently, Polygonum cuspidatum extract is the greatest natural source for resveratrol because of high concentrations of glycosidic-linked resveratrol. Thus, developing a cost-effective procedure to hydrolyze glucoside could substantially enhance resveratrol production from P. cuspidatum. This study selected Dekkera bruxellensis from several microorganisms based on its bioconversion and enzyme-specific activities. We demonstrated that the cells could be reused at least nine times while maintaining an average of 180.67U/L β-glucosidase activity. The average resveratrol bioconversion efficiency within five rounds of repeated usage was 108.77±0.88%. This process worked effectively when the volume was increased to 1200L, a volume at which approximately 35mgL^-1h^-1 resveratrol per round was produced. This repeated fed-batch bioconversion process for resveratrol production is comparable to enzyme or cell immobilization strategies in terms of reusing cycles, but without incurring additional costs for immobilization.

Enhanced bioethanol production by fed-batch simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation at high solid loading of Fenton reaction and sodium hydroxide sequentially pretreated sugarcane bagasse

A study on the fed-batch simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) of Fenton reaction combined with NaOH pretreated sugarcane bagasse (SCB) at a high solid loading of 10-30% (w/v) was investigated. Enzyme feeding mode, substrate feeding mode and combination of both were compared with the batch mode under respective solid loadings. Ethanol concentrations of above 80g/L were obtained in batch and enzyme feeding modes at a solid loading of 30% (w/v). Enzyme feeding mode was found to increase ethanol productivity and reduce enzyme loading to a value of 1.23g/L/h and 9FPU/g substrate, respectively. The present study provides an economically feasible process for high concentration bioethanol production.

Effect of ozonolysis parameters on the inhibitory compound generation and on the production of ethanol by Pichia stipitis and acetone-butanol-ethanol by Clostridium from ozonated and water washed sugarcane bagasse

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) was ozone pretreated and detoxified by water washing, applying a L9(3)(4) orthogonal array (OA) design of experiments to study the effect of pretreatment parameters (moisture content, ozone concentration, ozone/oxygen flow and particle size) on the generation of inhibitory compounds and on the composition of hydrolysates of ozonated-washed samples. Ozone concentration resulted the highest influence process parameter on delignification and sugar release after washing; while, for inhibitory compound formation, moisture content also had an important role. Ozone expended in pretreatment related directly with sugar release and inhibitory compound formation. Washing detoxification was effective, providing non-inhibitory hydrolysates. Maximum glucose and xylose release yields obtained were 84% and 67%, respectively, for ozonated-washed SCB. Sugar concentration resulted in the decisive factor for biofuels yields. Ethanol production achieved an 88% yield by Pichia stipitis, whereas Clostridium acetobutylicum produced 0.072gBUTANOL/gSUGAR and 0.188gABE/gSUGAR, and, Clostridium beijerinckii 0.165gBUTANOL/gSUGAR and 0.257gABE/gSUGAR.

Ozonolysis combined with ultrasound as a pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse: Effect on the enzymatic saccharification and the physical and chemical characteristics of the substrate

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) was treated in three stages using ozone oxidation (O), washing in an alkaline medium (B) and ultrasonic irradiation (U). The impact of each pretreatment stage on the physical structure of the SCB was evaluated by its chemical composition, using an infrared technique (FTIR-ATR), and using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG). The pretreatment sequence O, B, U provided a significant reduction of lignin and hemicellulose, which was confirmed by changes in the absorption bands corresponding to these compounds, when observed using infrared. Thermogravimetric analysis confirmed an increased thermal stability in the treated sample due to the removal of hemicellulose and extractives during the pretreatment. This pretreatment released 391mg glucose/g from treated SCB after the enzymatic hydrolysis, corresponding to a yield of 94% of the cellulose available.

Effect of ozonolysis pretreatment parameters on the sugar release, ozone consumption and ethanol production from sugarcane bagasse

A L9(3)(4) orthogonal array (OA) experimental design was applied to study the four parameters considered most important in the ozonolysis pretreatment (moisture content, ozone concentration, ozone/oxygen flow and particle size) on ethanol production from sugarcane bagasse (SCB). Statistical analysis highlighted ozone concentration as the highest influence parameter on reaction time and sugars release after enzymatic hydrolysis. The increase on reaction time when decreasing the ozone/oxygen flow resulted in small differences of ozone consumptions. Design optimization for sugars release provided a parameters combination close to the best experimental run, where 77.55% and 56.95% of glucose and xylose yields were obtained, respectively. When optimizing the grams of sugar released by gram of ozone, the highest influence parameter was moisture content, with a maximum yield of 2.98gSUGARS/gO3. In experiments on hydrolysates fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae provided ethanol yields around 80%, while Pichia stipitis was completely inhibited.

Effective pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse with combination pretreatment and its hydrolyzates as reaction media for the biosynthesis of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate by whole cells of E. coli CCZU-K14

In this study, sugarcane bagasse (SB) was pretreated with combination pretreatment (e.g., sequential KOH extraction and ionic liquid soaking, sequential KOH extraction and Fenton soaking, or sequential KOH extraction and glycerol soaking). After the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated SBs, it was found that all these three concentrated hydrolyzates could be used for the asymmetric bioreduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) into ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate [(S)-CHBE]. Compared with glucose, arabinose and cellobiose couldn't promote the initial reaction rate, and xylose could increase the intracellular NADH content. Moreover, it was the first report that hydrolyzates could be used for the effective biosynthesis of (S)-CHBE (∼500g/L; 98.0% yield) from 3000 COBE by whole cells of Escherichia coli CCZU-K14 in the presence of β-CD (0.4mol β-CD/mol COBE), l-glutamine (200mM) and glycine (500mM). In conclusion, it is a new alternative to utilize bioresource for the synthesis of key chiral intermediate (S)-CHBE.