Dilute oxalic acid pretreatment for biorefining giant reed (Arundo donax L.)

Biomass pretreatment is essential to overcome recalcitrance of lignocellulose for ethanol production. In the present study we pretreated giant reed (Arundo donax L.), a perennial, rhizomatous lignocellulosic grass with dilute oxalic acid. The effects of temperature (170-190 °C), acid loading (2-10% w/w) and reaction time (15-40 min) were handled as a single parameter, combined severity. We explored the change in hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin composition following pretreatment and glucan conversion after enzymatic hydrolysis of the solid residue. Two different yeast strains, Scheffersomyces (Pichia) stipitis CBS 6054, which is a native xylose and cellobiose fermenter, and Saccharomyces carlsbergensis FPL-450, which does not ferment xylose or cellobiose, were used along with commercial cellulolytic enzymes in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). S. carlsbergensis attained a maximum ethanol concentration of 15.9 g/l after 48 h at pH 5.0, while S. stipitis, at the same condition, took 96 h to reach a similar ethanol value; increasing the pH to 6.0 reduced the S. stipitis lag phase and attained 18.0 g/l of ethanol within 72 h.     

Experimental evaluation of alternative fermentation media for L‐lactic acid production from apple pomace

BACKGROUND: A variety of nitrogen sources were tested for lactic acid production. Corn steep liquor is a low‐cost by‐product that could replace some of the expensive nutrients of the general lactobacilli media. This work deals with the optimisation of the composition of a low‐cost medium for lactic acid production from apple pomace by Lactobacillus rhamnosus CECT‐288. RESULTS: Corn steep liquor (CSL) and yeast extract (YE) were evaluated as nutrient sources for lactic acid production from apple pomace. In comparison with media containing CSL, experiments with YE led to higher volumetric productivities but lower lactic acid concentrations and product yields. The presence of YE increased the production of acetic acid. In media containing 0.2 g CSL g^?1 potential sugars, 29.5 g lactic acid L^?1 was obtained after 24 h, at good yield (35.5 g per 100 g dry apple pomace) and productivity (1.23 g L^?1 h^?1), with a lactic acid/acetic acid mass ratio of 98 g g^?1. CONCLUSION: The experimental results proved that CSL is a suitable nutrient source for lactic acid production from apple pomace, even though the volumetric productivity was lower than in experiments employing YE. Considered as a nutrient supplement, CSL presents advantages over YE not only in terms of cost but also in terms of product yield, final lactic acid concentration and lactic acid/acetic acid mass ratio. The utilisation of apple pomace as the raw material and CSL as the sole nutrient source (both cheap by‐products) enables the production of lactic acid by an economical, environmentally friendly process. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation of whole wheat in integrated ethanol production

Two of the most important ways of reducing the production cost of lignocellulosic ethanol are to increase the ethanol yield and the concentration in the fermentation broth. This can be facilitated by co-fermentation of glucose and xylose from agricultural residues such as wheat straw, due to the high amount of xylose in the hemicelluloses in these materials.Simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) of steam-pretreated wheat straw (SPWS) with and without the addition of liquefied wheat meal (LWM) was performed using the pentose-fermenting yeast, TMB3400. The highest overall ethanol yield in batch operation, of around 70%, equivalent to an ethanol concentration of 43.7 g L⁻¹, was achieved using SPWS with 7.5% water-insoluble solids (WIS) and addition of LWM with 1% WIS. Using SPWS with a higher WIS (10%) resulted in a decreased yield, 60%, although the concentration of ethanol increased to 53.0 g L⁻¹. SSCF of 7.5% straw was also performed with a single (after 20 h) or fed-batch addition of 1% WIS LWM (after 20, 24 and 28 h) resulting in an increase in both ethanol yield and concentration compared to the reference, without wheat meal addition, but no significant difference compared to the batch experiments.The addition of wheat meal to SSCF did not improve xylose utilization significantly, probably due to the instant release of glucose from the liquefied meal, which hampers the uptake of xylose. The instant release of glucose was shown to be caused by the high amylase activity of the β-glucosidase enzyme preparation.     

Effectiveness of dilute oxalic acid pretreatment of Miscanthus × giganteus biomass for ethanol production

In the present study the effect of temperature, reaction time and dilute oxalic acid (OA) concentration during steam-pretreatment of Miscanthus × gigantueus has been evaluated using the combined severity factor (CS). At the highest CS glucan and lignin content in the water insoluble fraction (WIF) increased, while xylan content decreased. While glucose recovery in the water soluble fraction (WSF) was found at low concentration when mild CS were used (≤5.0 g L⁻¹ at CS ≤ 2.17), xylose and arabinose concentrations were higher at low-mild CS (1.58–2.17) with a concentration peak at CS 2.03 (39.9 and 3.2 g L⁻¹ for xylose and arabinose, respectively). The decrease in pentoses coincided with inhibitory formation in the WSF, namely acetic acid, furfural, HMF and phenolic compounds. Glucan conversion rose from 46.1% at CS 1.54 to 91.2% at CS 2.76. Likewise, maximum ethanol concentration was achieved at CS 2.76, corresponding to 20.2 g L⁻¹ and a volumetric ethanol productivity of 0.28 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹. Negative correlations have been found between xylan vs. glucan conversion and xylan vs. ethanol production, suggesting that decreasing the xylan content in WIF increases both saccharification rate and ethanol concentration (R² 0.91 and R² 0.93, respectively). On the other hand, a positive correlation was found between ethanol production and glucan conversion (R² 0.93). Fermentation of WSF by Scheffersomyces (Pichia) stipitis CBS 6054 at CS 1.54 produced 12.1 g L⁻¹ of ethanol after 96 h incubation with a volumetric ethanol productivity of 0.13 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹.     

Evaluation the efficacy of extrusion pretreatment via enzymatic digestibility and simultaneous saccharification & fermentation with rapeseed straw

The efficacy of extrusion pretreatment was evaluated by enzymatic hydrolysis and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) with straw of rapeseed, Brassica napus, an agricultural residue. An acceptable pretreatment result was obtained at a barrel temperature of 165 °C, acid concentration of 20 g L⁻¹, liquid feeding rate of 13.4 cm³ min⁻¹, solid feeding rate of 1.0 g min⁻¹, screw rotation speed of 6.3 rad s⁻¹, and residence time of 10.2 min, with a yield of xmg, representing the sum of the corresponding hydrolyzed sugars; xylose, mannose and galactose, of 794.3 g kg⁻¹ and a glucose release of 21.0 g kg⁻¹. These were calculated to be 963.0 g kg⁻¹ and 910.3 g kg⁻¹ based on cellulose and hemicellulose recoveries,respectively. The highest enzymatic digestibility of 781.0 g kg⁻¹was higher than that obtained from the batch pretreatment with dilute acid by 1.4-fold. The SSF process afforded an ethanol concentration of 16.0 g L⁻¹, corresponding to an ethanol yield of 790 g kg⁻¹ based on the total available cellulose in the pretreated rapeseed straw.     

基于循环平稳特性的源信号到达角估计方法

分析了SC-SSF算法的不足,给出了统一的循环频域阵列信号模型,并推导得到了一般化的基于信号循环平稳特性的源信号到达角估计方法——GSC-SSF算法,该算法克服了SC-SSF算法的不足,具有更好的实用性.仿真试验比较了两种方法的估计性能,仿真结果说明了所给方法的有效性.     

氧气辅助湿热预处理对玉米秸秆酒精发酵的影响

为了解氧气（O₂）在玉米秸秆湿热预处理中的作用,优化玉米秸秆酒精生产工艺,本文采用三种不同湿热预处理条件处理玉米秸秆,即条件1（195℃,15min）、条件2（195℃,15min,12bar O₂）和条件3（195℃,15min,12bar O₂,2g/L Na₂CO₃）,并利用酿酒酵母对预处理后的玉米秸秆同步糖化发酵酒精工艺（SSF）进行了研究。实验结果表明：经过预处理,玉米秸秆分为固体滤饼与水解液两部分,其中绝大部分纤维素以固体形式保留在滤饼中,而半纤维素和木质素由于不稳定则发生了部分水解或降解。三种预处理条件下纤维素总体收率分别为91.2%、94.6%和95.9%,半纤维素总体收率分别为74.5%、50.3%和68.2%,固体滤饼中木质素质量分数分别为25.2%、17.5%和13.7%,纤维素酶解葡萄糖率分别为64.8%、65.8%和67.6%。表明氧气对纤维素收率影响不大,能够促进半纤维素的溶出。氧气主要与木质素发生反应,尤其与碱性物质碳酸钠（Na₂CO₃）结合,能够促进木质素降解,从而获得了较高的纤维素收率和纤维素酶解葡萄糖率。因此在底物质量分数8%,经过酿酒酵母142h发酵,经条件3处理的玉米秸秆获得的酒精浓度最高,最终酒精浓度达到25.0g/L,并且整个发酵过程没有明显的抑制作用产生。     

Direct ethanol production from rice straw by coculture with two high-performing fungi

To develop efficient and economical direct ethanol production from fine rice straw crashed mechanically, two high-performing fungi, which can secret hyperactive cellulases and/or ferment effectively various sugars, were selected from some strains belong to Mucor circinelloides preserved in our laboratory. The simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) by coculture with these fungi was investigated. The screening of high-performing fungi resulted in the selection of NBRC 4572 as an ethanol-producing fungus and NBRC 5398 as a cellulase-secreting fungus. The strain 4572 produced ethanol aerobically from glucose and xylose in high yields of 0.420 g/g at 36 h and 0.478 g/g at 60 h, respectively, but secreted fairly low cellulases. On the other hand, the strain 5398 also produced ethanol from glucose in yield of 0.340 g/g though it had a little growth in xylose culture. However, it secreted hyperactive cellulases that are essential for hydrolysis of rice straw in culture and the maximum activities of endo-β-glucanase and β-glucosidase were 2.11 U/L and 1.47 U/L, respectively. In SSF of rice straw by coculture with two fungi selected, the ethanol production reached 1.28 g/L after 96 h when the inoculation ratio of the strain 5398 to the strain 4572 was 9.     

黑曲霉固态发酵橘皮生产纤维素酶及淀粉酶

以橘皮为原料,以黑曲霉AS3.3928为生产菌株,采用固态发酵法生产纤维素酶和淀粉酶。通过单因素试验考察固态发酵培养基中橘皮含量、培养基含水量、接种量及发酵时间4个因素对纤维素酶和淀粉酶活力的影响。在单因素试验基础上,通过正交试验最终确定最优产酶条件为：固态发酵培养基中添加16g橘皮,并加入5mL无菌水使培养基初始含水量为64mL/100g,黑曲霉接种量15%,发酵60h。在此发酵条件下所产纤维素酶活力可达1816U/g,淀粉酶活力达196U/g。结果表明,利用黑曲霉固态发酵橘皮,非常有利于纤维素酶和淀粉酶的生产。     

Assessment of combined heat and power (CHP) integrated with wood-based ethanol production

A techno-economic assessment is made of wood-based production of ethanol, where the by-products are used for internal energy needs as well as for generation of electricity, district heat and pelletised fuel in different proportions for external use. Resulting ethanol production costs do not differ much between the options but a process where electricity generation is maximised by use of the solid residues as fuel for a combined cycle is found to give 20% more reduction of green-house gas emissions per liter of ethanol produced than the other options. Maximising electricity generation at the expense of district heat generation also allows more freedom when suitable sites for ethanol plants are looked for. Use of gasified biofuel for a combined cycle power plant is a demonstrated technology, however, the low ash and alkali content of the hydrolysis residue may allow direct combustion in the gas turbine topping cycle. This would reduce the necessary investment considerably. The potential advantages of using a combined cycle for maximising the electric power output from an energy combinate, producing ethanol and electricity from biomass, justifies further exploration of the possibilities for using hydrolysis residue directly as gas turbine fuel.