Interactions of mixing and reaction kinetics of depolymerization of cellulose to renewable fuels

As the biofuel industry is heavily depend on technological advancement to remain competent, creation of new process techniques becomes inevitable to replace the existing under-performed operations. Mixing in the reactor requires enormous amount of energy to achieve required homogeneity. Reduction in the energy consumption and ultimately the cost of the product is possible by devising smart mixing strategies. In this review, interactions of mixing and reaction kinetics of enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, and cellulosic depolymerization in ionic solvents are discussed. When the processes are operated under various mixing conditions, changes in the reaction kinetics and dynamics of the processes occur. Therefore, analyzing the mixing effects at various levels (micro to macro) is crucial to decide best operating mixing conditions that drive the reaction kinetics toward the increased product yield. The review is helpful to identify a suitable mixing strategy that maximizes the production of biofuels—ethanol, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, etc.     

Kinetic,thermodynamic parameters and in vitro digestion of tannase from Aspergillus tamarii URM 7115

Tannase is an enzyme used in various industries and produced by a large number of microorganisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate tannase production to determine the biochemical, kinetic, and thermodynamic properties and to simulate tannase in vitro digestion. The tannase-producing fungal strain was isolated from “jamun” leaves and identified as Aspergillus tamarii. Temperature at 26°C for 67?h was the best combination for maximum tannase activity (6.35-fold; initial activity in Plackett–Burman design—15.53?U/mL and average final activity in Doehlert design—98.68?U/mL). The crude extract of tannase was optimally active at 40°C, pH 5.5 and 6.5. Moreover, tannase was stimulated by Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Mn²⁺. The half-life at 40°C lasted 247.55?min. The free energy of Gibbs, enthalpy, and entropy, at 40°C, was 81.47, 16.85, and ?0.21?kJ/mol?·?K, respectively. After total digestion, 123.95% of the original activity was retained. Results suggested that tannase from A. tamarii URM 7115 is an enzyme of interest for industrial applications, such as gallic acid production, additive for feed industry, and for beverage manufacturing, due to its catalytic and thermodynamic properties.     

Effect of Cultivation Parameters on Fermentation and Hydrogen Production in the Phylum Thermotogae

The phylum Thermotogae is composed of a single class (Thermotogae), 4 orders (Thermotogales, Kosmotogales, Petrotogales, Mesoaciditogales), 5 families (Thermatogaceae, Fervidobacteriaceae, Kosmotogaceae, Petrotogaceae, Mesoaciditogaceae), and 13 genera. They have been isolated from extremely hot environments whose characteristics are reflected in the metabolic and phenotypic properties of the Thermotogae species. The metabolic versatility of Thermotogae members leads to a pool of high value-added products with application potentials in many industry fields. The low risk of contamination associated with their extreme culture conditions has made most species of the phylum attractive candidates in biotechnological processes. Almost all members of the phylum, especially those in the order Thermotogales, can produce bio-hydrogen from a variety of simple and complex sugars with yields close to the theoretical Thauer limit of 4 mol H₂/mol consumed glucose. Acetate, lactate, and L-alanine are the major organic end products. Thermotagae fermentation processes are influenced by various factors, such as hydrogen partial pressure, agitation, gas sparging, culture/headspace ratio, inoculum, pH, temperature, nitrogen sources, sulfur sources, inorganic compounds, metal ions, etc. Optimization of these parameters will help to fully unleash the biotechnological potentials of Thermotogae and promote their applications in industry. This article gives an overview of how these operational parameters could impact Thermotogae fermentation in terms of sugar consumption, hydrogen yields, and organic acids production.     

Dark fermentation of starch factory wastewater with acid- and base-treated mixed microorganisms for biohydrogen production

Biohydrogen (Bio-H₂) can be produced from starch factory wastewater and mixed microorganisms using dark fermentation. Acidic and basic chemicals were used to treat the microorganisms to select the hydrogen (H₂)-producing culture. The experiment used a 120 mL bioreactor at 35 °C and the operation commenced with the initial pH level of wastewater in the pH range 4–7 in batch mode. The bacteria:chemical oxygen demand (COD) ratio was 0.2. The initial pH level of the wastewater in the fermentation process affected the H₂ yield and the specific hydrogen production rate (SHPR). For acid-treated bacteria, the maximum H₂ yield and SHPR were produced at an initial pH of 6.5. The maximum H₂ yield and SHPR were 138 mL/g COD degraded and 7.42 mL/g cells?h, respectively. For the base-treated bacteria, the maximum H₂ yield and SHPR were produced at initial pH of 6.5 and pH 7, respectively. The maximum H₂ yield and SHPR were 182 mL/g COD degraded and 25.60 mL/g cells?h, respectively. The COD degradation efficiency levels were 16 and 20% for acid- and base-treated bacteria, respectively. The digested wastewater remained acidic at pH 4.79–4.83. Throughout the study, no methane gas was observed in the gas mixture produced.     

Characterisation and in vitro cytotoxicity of toxic and degradation compounds in bamboo shoots (Dendrocalamus Sinicus) during traditional fermentation

Fermentation has been historically applied to reduce bamboo shoot (BS) toxicity. However, the underlying degradation pathway of the toxic compounds remains unknown. In this work, the cytotoxicity of BS against the BRL-3A cells was evaluated, and the changes in chemical constituents were determined to reveal the influence of fermentation on BS. The in vitro toxic evaluation revealed fermentation time was crucial in decreasing the toxicity. The main compounds in fresh and fermented were qualitatively and quantitatively determined and were further targeted isolated and identified. A mathematical model to describe the change rate as a function of fermentation time was formulated. Dynamic profiling revealed that taxiphyllin 1 , p-hydroxybenzaldehyde 2 and methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate 3 decreased and transformed into intermediate compounds (p-hydroxybenzoic acid 4 and p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 5 ), finally converting into p-hydroxytoluene 6 during fermentation. The results provided basis on the chemical components for practical fermentation and the quality control of BS products.     

油莎豆白酒发酵工艺优化及其品质指标检测

以油莎豆饼和高粱为原料，分别采用固态和液态发酵工艺酿造油莎豆白酒，对油莎豆白酒的发酵工艺进行选择。在此基础上，采用单因素试验及正交试验探究发酵温度、糖化酶添加量以及活性干酵母添加量对油莎豆白酒发酵及理化指标的影响，从而确定油莎豆白酒的最佳固态发酵工艺条件，并对油莎豆白酒发酵过程中酒醅的发酵指标进行实时监测。结果表明，油莎豆白酒的最佳发酵工艺为固态发酵，最佳发酵工艺条件为发酵温度23 ℃，糖化酶添加量190 U/g、活性干酵母添加量0.5‰。在此优化条件下，油莎豆白酒的酒精度为9.2%vol，总酯含量为2.96 g/L，总酸含量为1.45 g/L，乙酸乙酯含量为2.42 g/L，出酒率达到41%。油莎豆白酒发酵过程中，酒精含量逐渐升高，最后趋于平缓，发酵结束后，酒精度达9.2%vol；发酵温度先上升后下降，第6天时酒醅温度达到峰值（27.9 ℃）；剩余淀粉含量逐渐下降，发酵结束后，淀粉消耗12.21%。     

Bacterial community succession and biogenic amine changes during fermentation of fish-chili paste inoculated with different commercial starter cultures

The microbial dynamics, diversity and succession characterisation during the fermentation of fish-chili paste, with and without starter cultures by high-throughput sequencing, were investigated to identify the relationship between microbial composition and the accumulation of biogenic amines. Results showed that Firmicutes was the predominant phylum, and Lactobacillus and Weissella were the main genera during fermentation process, regardless of the inclusion of starter cultures. Compared with naturally fermented samples (NS; no starter cultures), Pediococcus and Staphylococcus flourished in samples inoculated with SBM-52 starter culture (Staphylococcus xylosus + Staphylococcus carnosus + Pediococcus pentosaceus + Pediococcus acidilactici). Staphylococcus also accounted for a larger proportion in samples inoculated with WBX-43 starter culture (Staphylococcus xylosus + Staphylococcus carnosus). Furthermore, Enterobacter was inhibited in inoculated samples. Unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means and principal component analyses revealed that microbiota structures were different among NS, SBM and WBX samples. In case of biogenic amines, the concentration of putrescine, cadaverine and tyramine increased to higher levels in NS samples compared with inoculated samples. Our work also investigated the relationship between core bacterial communities and biogenic amines. This study provided an improved understanding for the effects of starter cultures on the microbial community and the quality of fish-chili paste.     

Predominant yeasts in the sourdoughs collected from some parts of Turkey

In the present study, a total of eight sourdough samples were collected from three different bakeries at two different times in Turkey. Also, laboratory-scale sourdough production was conducted by daily back-slopping for 7 days. Microbiological and chemical properties of the sourdoughs were investigated. Yeast species in the sourdoughs were identified by subjecting all presumptive yeast cultures to internal transcribed spacer region amplification of the 5.8S rRNA gene, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis using Hae III, Hha I, and Hinf I endonucleases, and sequence analysis of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rDNA gene. A total of seven profiles were determined according to the restriction fragments. Totally, 148 yeast isolates were identified at the species level (≥400 bp , 99% identity) as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (106), Kazachstania bulderi (11), Pichia fermentans (nine), Pichia membranifaciens (eight), Kazachstania servazzii (seven), Kazachstania unispora (four), and Hanseniaspora valbyensis (three). Although collected sourdoughs were produced without using baker's yeast, S. cerevisiae was the most frequently isolated yeast species. This can be related to the contamination of the bakery environment with commercial baker's yeast during the production of other bakery products. The pH and acidity levels of the collected sourdough samples ranged from 3.71 to 3.96 and 6.78 to 23.93 mL 0.1 N NaOH/10 g dough, respectively. Mean values of the content of maltose + sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactic acid, and acetic acid were 2.43, 1.57, 2.67, 7.30, and 1.40 g/kg, respectively. Due to the artisan and region-dependent handling of the sourdough, different biochemical patterns were observed among the collected samples.