Optimization of sulfide/sulfite pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for lactic acid production

Innovative Lactic Acid Production Techniques Driving Advances in Silage Fermentation

Lactic acid (LA) plays a crucial role in the silage process, which occurs through LA fermentation. Consequently, there is a strong correlation between lactic acid production and the efficiency of the silage. However, traditional methods face challenges like long fermentation times, low acid production, and unstable quality, limiting agricultural preservation. This paper aims to explore innovations in lactic acid production technologies and show how these technologies have driven the development of silage fermentation for agricultural conservation. First, the important role of LA in agricultural preservation and the limitations of traditional silage techniques are presented. Next, advancements in LA production methods are thoroughly examined, covering the selection of microbial strains and the substitution of fermentation substrates. Following this, new technologies for silage fermentation are explored, drawing from innovations in LA production. These include the selection of LA strains, optimization of fermentation conditions, and improvements in fermentation techniques. These innovations have proven effective in increasing LA production, improving feed quality, extending shelf life, and providing new solutions to enhance agricultural production and sustainability.

Combined pretreatment of malic acid and kraft pulping for the production of fermentable sugars and highly active lignin

The separation and utilization of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in lignocellulosic biorefineries present significant challenges. This study proposes a pretreatment method for biomass refining by combining acid and kraft pulping. Firstly, the biomass was pretreated by malic acid, resulting in the isolation of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) with a yield of 86.26 % with optimized conditions of 180 °C, 1 wt% concentration, 40 min. Secondly, a mixture of 12.98 wt% NaOH and 1.043 wt% Na2S is employed to achieve lignin removal efficiency up to 63.42 %. Physical refinement techniques are then applied to enhance the enzyme digestion efficiency of cellulose, resulting in an increase from 55.03 % to 91.4 % for efficient cellulose conversion. The reacted samples exhibit a lignin composition rich in β-O-4 ether bonds, facilitating their high-value utilization. The results indicated that the combined pretreatment approach demonstrates high efficiency in separating cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin while obtaining XOS, highly active lignin, and enzyme-digested substrates.

Optimization of biogas yield from lignocellulosic materials with different pretreatment methods: a review

Population increase and industrialization has resulted in high energy demand and consumptions, and presently, fossil fuels are the major source of staple energy, supplying 80% of the entire consumption. This has contributed immensely to the greenhouse gas emission and leading to global warming, and as a result of this, there is a tremendous urgency to investigate and improve fresh and renewable energy sources worldwide. One of such renewable energy sources is biogas that is generated by anaerobic fermentation that uses different wastes such as agricultural residues, animal manure, and other organic wastes. During anaerobic digestion, hydrolysis of substrates is regarded as the most crucial stage in the process of biogas generation. However, this process is not always efficient because of the domineering stableness of substrates to enzymatic or bacteria assaults, but substrates' pretreatment before biogas production will enhance biogas production. The principal objective of pretreatments is to ease the accessibility of the enzymes to the lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose which leads to degradation of the substrates. Hence, the use of pretreatment for catalysis of lignocellulose substrates is beneficial for the production of cost-efficient and eco-friendly process. In this review, we discussed different pretreatment technologies of hydrolysis and their restrictions. The review has shown that different pretreatments have varying effects on lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose degradation and biogas yield of different substrate and the choice of pretreatment technique will devolve on the intending final products of the process.

Lactic acid production - producing microorganisms and substrates sources-state of art

Lactic acid is an organic compound produced via fermentation by different microorganisms that are able to use different carbohydrate sources. Lactic acid bacteria are the main bacteria used to produce lactic acid and among these, Lactobacillus spp. have been showing interesting fermentation capacities. The use of Bacillus spp. revealed good possibilities to reduce the fermentative costs. Interestingly, lactic acid high productivity was achieved by Corynebacterium glutamicum and E. coli, mainly after engineering genetic modification. Fungi, like Rhizopus spp. can metabolize different renewable carbon resources, with advantageously amylolytic properties to produce lactic acid. Additionally, yeasts can tolerate environmental restrictions (for example acidic conditions), being the wild-type low lactic acid producers that have been improved by genetic manipulation. Microalgae and cyanobacteria, as photosynthetic microorganisms can be an alternative lactic acid producer without carbohydrate feed costs. For lactic acid production, it is necessary to have substrates in the fermentation medium. Different carbohydrate sources can be used, from plant waste as molasses, starchy, lignocellulosic materials as agricultural and forestry residues. Dairy waste also can be used by the addition of supplementary components with a nitrogen source.

Recent updates on different methods of pretreatment of lignocellulosic feedstocks: a review

Lignocellulosic feedstock materials are the most abundant renewable bioresource material available on earth. It is primarily composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, which are strongly associated with each other. Pretreatment processes are mainly involved in effective separation of these complex interlinked fractions and increase the accessibility of each individual component, thereby becoming an essential step in a broad range of applications particularly for biomass valorization. However, a major hurdle is the removal of sturdy and rugged lignin component which is highly resistant to solubilization and is also a major inhibitor for hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose. Moreover, other factors such as lignin content, crystalline, and rigid nature of cellulose, production of post-pretreatment inhibitory products and size of feed stock particle limit the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass. This has led to extensive research in the development of various pretreatment processes. The major pretreatment methods include physical, chemical, and biological approaches. The selection of pretreatment process depends exclusively on the application. As compared to the conventional single pretreatment process, integrated processes combining two or more pretreatment techniques is beneficial in reducing the number of process operational steps besides minimizing the production of undesirable inhibitors. However, an extensive research is still required for the development of new and more efficient pretreatment processes for lignocellulosic feedstocks yielding promising results.

Fermentative production of lactic acid from renewable materials: recent achievements, prospects, and limits

The development and implementation of renewable materials for the production of versatile chemical resources have gained considerable attention recently, as this offers an alternative to the environmental problems caused by the petroleum industry and the limited supply of fossil resources. Therefore, the concept of utilizing biomass or wastes from agricultural and industrial residues to produce useful chemical products has been widely accepted. Lactic acid plays an important role due to its versatile application in the food, medical, and cosmetics industries and as a potential raw material for the manufacture of biodegradable plastics. Currently, the fermentative production of optically pure lactic acid has increased because of the prospects of environmental friendliness and cost-effectiveness. In order to produce lactic acid with high yield and optical purity, many studies focus on wild microorganisms and metabolically engineered strains. This article reviews the most recent advances in the biotechnological production of lactic acid mainly by lactic acid bacteria, and discusses the feasibility and potential of various processes.