Customizing the spent coffee for Trichoderma reesei cellulase immobilization by modification with activating agents

Bio-Based Materials versus Synthetic Polymers as a Support in Lipase Immobilization: Impact on Versatile Enzyme Activity

To improve enzyme stability, the immobilization process is often applied. The choice of a support on which the enzymes are adsorbed plays a major role in enhancing biocatalysts’ properties. In this study, bio-based (i.e., chitosan, coffee grounds) and synthetic (i.e., Lewatit VP OC 1600) supports were used in the immobilization of lipases of various microbial origins (yeast (Yarrowia lipolytica) and mold (Aspergillus oryzae)). The results confirmed that the enzyme proteins had been adsorbed on the surface of the selected carriers, but not all of them revealed comparably high catalytic activity. Immobilized CALB (Novozym 435) was used as a commercial reference biocatalyst. The best hydrolytic activity (higher than that of CALB) was observed for Novozym 51032 (lipase solution of A. oryzae) immobilized on Lewatit VP OC 1600. In terms of synthetic activity, there were only slight differences between the applied carriers for A. oryzae lipase, and the highest measures were obtained for coffee grounds. All of the biocatalysts had significantly lower activity in the synthesis reactions than the reference catalyst.

Waste Management in the Agri-Food Industry: The Conversion of Eggshells, Spent Coffee Grounds, and Brown Onion Skins into Carriers for Lipase Immobilization

One of the major challenges in sustainable waste management in the agri-food industry following the “zero waste” model is the application of the circular economy strategy, including the development of innovative waste utilization techniques. The conversion of agri-food waste into carriers for the immobilization of enzymes is one such technique. Replacing chemical catalysts with immobilized enzymes (i.e., immobilized/heterogeneous biocatalysts) could help reduce the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability problems of existing chemically catalysed processes. On the other hand, the economics of the process strongly depend on the price of the immobilized enzyme. The conversion of agricultural and food wastes into low-cost enzyme carriers could lead to the development of immobilized enzymes with desirable operating characteristics and subsequently lower the price of immobilized enzymes for use in biocatalytic production. In this context, this review provides insight into the possibilities of reusing food industry wastes, namely, eggshells, coffee grounds, and brown onion skins, as carriers for lipase immobilization.

An overview of biomass conversion: exploring new opportunities

Recycling biomass is indispensable these days not only because fossil energy sources are gradually depleted, but also because pollution of the environment, caused by the increasing use of energy, must be reduced. This article intends to overview the results of plant biomass processing methods that are currently in use. Our aim was also to review published methods that are not currently in use. It is intended to explore the possibilities of new methods and enzymes to be used in biomass recycling. The results of this overview are perplexing in almost every area. Advances have been made in the pre-treatment of biomass and in the diversity and applications of the enzymes utilized. Based on molecular modeling, very little progress has been made in the modification of existing enzymes for altered function and adaptation for the environmental conditions during the processing of biomass. There are hardly any publications in which molecular modeling techniques are used to improve enzyme function and to adapt enzymes to various environmental conditions. Our view is that using modern computational, biochemical, and biotechnological methods would enable the purposeful design of enzymes that are more efficient and suitable for biomass processing.

Microbial dynamics for lignocellulosic waste bioconversion and its importance with modern circular economy, challenges and future perspectives

An extensive use of microbial dynamics for utilizing the lignocellulosic wastes has been attributed to their efficiency in bioenergy and bioproducts development as a cost effective high nutritional value. The integration of lignocellulosic waste into the circular economy can scaleup the sustainable bioproducts and bioenergy development. In this review paper, the aim is to describe the existing research efforts on organic lignocellulosic waste, cellulase producing microbes, their potential enzyme, modern circular economy with associated challenges and future perspectives. Presently, it has been reviewed that microbial cellulases have provided treasure bioproducts visions into industrial bioproducts marvels unveiled through lignocellulosic waste cutting-edge microbial explorations. Furthermore, the review focused on new insights of the growing circular economy of lignocellulosic waste used for many bioproducts and bioenergy dealings and explored the emergent lignocellulosic biorefinery approaches which could then be applied to review industrial-scale sustainable economic models for upgraded bioproducts and other production associated problems.