Microbial lipids from renewable resources: production and characterization

A number of microorganisms belonging to the genera of algae, yeast, bacteria, and fungi have ability to accumulate neutral lipids under specific cultivation conditions. The microbial lipids contain high fractions of polyunsaturated fatty acids and have the potential to serve as a source of significant quantities of transportation fuels. This paper reviews the current state of the art of this field. It summarizes the various microorganism used, feed stocks available, environmental factors that influence growth of cells and accumulation of lipids, major fatty acid composition of lipids, and the technology.     

Bio-based surfactants: enzymatic functionalization and production from renewable resources

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Rhamnolipids as biosurfactants from renewable resources: Concepts for next-generation rhamnolipid production

Several microorganisms are known to produce a wide variety of surface-active substances, which are referred to as biosurfactants. Interesting examples for biosurfactants are rhamnolipids, glycolipids mainly known from Pseudomonas aeruginosa produced during cultivation on different substrates like vegetable oils, sugars, glycerol or hydrocarbons. However, besides costs for downstream processing of rhamnolipids, relatively high raw-material prices and low productivities currently inhibit potential economical production of rhamnolipids on an industrial scale. This review focuses on cost-effective and sustainable production of rhamnolipids by introducing new possibilities and strategies regarding renewable substrates. Additionally, past and recent production strategies using alternative substrates such as agro-industrial byproducts or wastes are summarized. Requirements and concepts for next-generation rhamnolipid producing strains are discussed and potential targets for strain-engineering are presented. The discussion of potential new strategies is supported by an analysis of the metabolism of different Pseudomonas species. According to calculations of theoretical substrate-to-product conversion yields and current world-market price analysis, different renewable substrates are compared and discussed from an economical point of view. A next-generation rhamnolipid producing strain, as proposed within this review, may be engineered towards reduced formation of byproducts, increased metabolic spectrum, broadened substrate spectrum and controlled regulation for the induction of rhamnolipid synthesis.     

The utilization of renewable resources in German industrial production

Renewable resources will be an increasingly important issue for the chemical industry in the future. In the context of white biotechnology, they represent the intersection point of agriculture and the chemical industry. The scarcity and related increase in the price of fossil resources make renewable resources an interesting alternative. If one considers the production of bulk chemicals, it is evident that for this area besides the C sources, sugar and starch, new sources of raw materials must be opened up. One possible solution is to utilize lignocellulose both for materials and energy. This article discusses this interesting prospective for the future, particularly from the point of view of the German industry.     

秸秆真菌降解转化与可再生化工

秸秆生物质是储量巨大的碳资源,我国每年可用的生物质资源接近10亿t,如果可以转化为燃料乙醇等生物基化学品,有望减少至少2亿t的原油进口量,因此发展秸秆生物转化生产燃料乙醇和大宗化学品是生物制造的核心组成。中国科学院天津工业生物技术研究所(以下简称“天津工业生物所”)自建所之初,便提出了“两个替代一个提升”,其中包括以可再生碳资源替代不可再生石化资源生产大宗化学品。发展秸秆生物转化是研究所的长期战略,建所10年来,在这一领域进行了持续系统地研究,取得了显著进展。本文重点综述真菌系统的生物质降解与转化,包括丝状真菌纤维素降解机理,生物质炼制整合路线研发等,实现了生物质一步转化燃料乙醇、苹果酸等多种大宗能源材料化学品。在可再生化工研究方面,重点介绍了丁二酸、乳酸等一批大宗有机酸,以可再生碳资源为原料进行生产的工业化进展,展示了生物制造替代石化路线生产大宗化学品的潜力。天津工业生物所在秸秆生物转化和可再生化工方面的研究,为我国建设发展低碳经济社会提供了有效参考路径,有望为我国实现双碳战略目标作出自己的独特贡献。     

Industrial exploitation of renewable resources: from ethanol production to bioproducts development

Plants, which are one of major groups of life forms, are constituted of an amazing number of molecules such as sugars, proteins, phenolic compounds etc. These molecules display multiple and complementary properties involved in various compartments of plants (structure, storage, biological activity etc.). The first uses of plants in industry were for food and feed, paper manufacturing or combustion. In the coming decades, these renewable biological materials will be the basis of a new concept: the "biorefiner" i.e. the chemical conversion of the whole plant to various products and uses. This concept, born in the 90ies, is analogous to today's petroleum refinery, which produces multiple fuels and derivative products from petroleum. Agriculture generates lots of co-products which were most often wasted. The rational use of these wasted products, which can be considered as valuable renewable materials, is now economically interesting and will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse has emissions by partially substituting for fossil fuels. Such substructures from biological waste products and transforming them into biofuels and new industrial products named "bioproducts". These compounds, such as bioplastics or biosurfactants, can replace equivalent petroleum derivatives. Towards that goal, lots of filamentous fungi, growing on a broad range of vegetable species, are able to produce enzymes adapted to the modification of these type of substrates. The best example, at least the more industrially developed to date, is the second generation biofuel technology using cellulose as a raw material. The process includes an enzymatic hydrolysis step which requires cellulases secreted from Trichoderma fungal species. This industrial development of a renewable energy will contribute to the diversification of energy sources used to transport and to the development of green chemistry which will partially substitute petrochemicals.     

Extinction of marine renewable resources: a demographic analysis

A simple (deterministic) population dynamics model is used to examine the level of fishing mortality at which a population is expected to be driven to extinction (F _crash). Values for F _crash are determined for six marine fish species (Cape hake, blue grenadier, blue warehou, school shark, gummy shark, and orange roughy) subject to commercial harvest. The sensitivity of the value of F _crash to changing the selectivity pattern of the fishery and the relationship between the size of the reproductive component of the population and subsequent births to allow for depensatory effects is examined. F _crash is greatest for highly productive species and when the fishery does not target immature animals. The ratio of F _crash to the fishing mortality at which maximum sustainable yield is achieved, F _MSY, is a decreasing function of the productivity of the population. The possibility of depensation has little impact on F _MSY but can substantially reduce the ratio F _crash/F _MSY. A series of stochastic simulations is conducted to assess the probability of detecting that the extent of fishing exceeds F _crash using the current IUCN A criterion. The results of these simulations are also used to determine the probability that the IUCN A criteria will be triggered when fishing takes place at F _MSY. The results indicate that there are substantial probabilities of incorrectly identifying species being harvested at F _MSY as being threatened during the 'fishing down' phase and also of not identifying species actually at risk of extinction if fishing mortality is not reduced. Received: January 14, 1999 / Accepted: April 27, 1999     

藻类生物柴油研究现状与展望

随着世界能源危机和环境恶化的加剧,新型绿色燃料——生物柴油备受关注。目前,世界范围内主要以油料作物和动物脂肪为原料生产生物柴油,但存在很多局限性。藻类本身具有很多优点,以藻类为原料生产的生物柴油是真正的环保可再生能源,但是藻类生物柴油的生产工艺费用较高,生产技术还不成熟,仍需要进一步的研究。该文主要介绍藻类生物柴油的优越性、生产工艺以及研究现状,分析了生产过程中存在的问题,展望了未来藻类生物柴油生产工艺研究的重点和发展趋势。     

娘子关泉域藻类植物的初步研究

1984～2000年间,对娘子关泉域的藻类植物进行了15次采集,共采得藻类植物标本200余号。经鉴定,有107种,隶属7门,32科,49属。其中,以绿藻门的种类最多,有13科,19属,45种。其次是裸藻门,有2科,7属,26种。排在最后的是轮藻门,有1科,1属,3种。群落主要包括8类,即刚毛藻-红毛菜群落(Cladophora Bangia community),刚毛藻群落(Cladophora community),拖拉藻-轮藻群落(Chara Thorea community),弯枝藻-拖拉藻群落(Composopogon-Thorea community),水绵-双星藻群落(Spirogyra Zygnema community),无隔藻群落(Vaucheria community),串珠藻群落(Batrachospermum community)和泡状饶氏藻群落(Jaoa community)。其中,有的群落类型已趋于消失或消失,许多种类已成为濒危物种,其原因主要是人为因素造成藻类植物生存环境的改变或破坏。本文也提出了相应的保护对策。     

An economic and simulation approach for renewable natural resources. Ethanol production in the EEC: A case study

A simulation model was constructed in order to evaluate the economic feasibility of a number of well-known or hypothetical conversion processes of biomass to a variety of energy carriers and chemical products. The model was constructed in such a way that it allowed a general approach, with possibilities for testing the impact of different hypotheses and scenarios about market evolutions and technological developments on the overall economics of a process. A case study of the Biostil process for ethanol production in the EC shows that large amounts of subsidies are necessary for profitable production with this process. The price of by-products has a great impact on its profitability.     

Biosorption with algae: a statistical review

The state of the art in the field of biosorption using algae as biomass is reviewed. The available data of maximum sorption uptake (qmax) and biomass-metal affinity (b) for Cd2 +, Cu2 +, Ni2 +, Pb2 + and Zn2 + were statistically analyzed using 37 different algae (20 brown algae, 9 red algae and 8 green algae). Metal biosorption research with algae has used mainly brown algae in pursuit of treatments, which improve its sorption uptake. The information available in connection with multimetallic systems is very poor. Values of qmax were close to 1 mmol/g for copper and lead and smaller for the other metals. Metal recovery performance was worse for nickel and zinc, but the number of samples for zinc was very small. All the metals except lead present a similar affinity for brown algae. The difference in the behavior of lead may be due to a different uptake mechanism. Brown algae stand out as very good biosorbents of heavy metals. The best performer for metal biosorption is lead.     

Biotechnological perspectives on algae: a viable option for next generation biofuels

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Ecological assessments with algae: a review and synthesis

Algae have been used for a century in environmental assessments of water bodies and are now used in countries around the world. This review synthesizes recent advances in the field around a framework for environmental assessment and management that can guide design of assessments, applications of phycology in assessments, and refinements of those applications to better support management decisions. Algae are critical parts of aquatic ecosystems that power food webs and biogeochemical cycling. Algae are also major sources of problems that threaten many ecosystems goods and services when abundances of nuisance and toxic taxa are high. Thus, algae can be used to indicate ecosystem goods and services, which complements how algal indicators are also used to assess levels of contaminants and habitat alterations (stressors). Understanding environmental managers' use of algal ecology, taxonomy, and physiology can guide our research and improve its application. Environmental assessments involve characterizing ecological condition and diagnosing causes and threats to ecosystems goods and services. Recent advances in characterizing condition include site‐specific models that account for natural variability among habitats to better estimate effects of humans. Relationships between algal assemblages and stressors caused by humans help diagnose stressors and establish targets for protection and restoration. Many algal responses to stressors have thresholds that are particularly important for developing stakeholder consensus for stressor management targets. Future research on the regional‐scale resilience of algal assemblages, the ecosystem goods and services they provide, and methods for monitoring and forecasting change will improve water resource management.     

Non-biodegradable biopolymers from renewable resources: perspectives and impacts

In recent years the biotechnological production of bulk biopolymers has focused on the synthesis of biodegradable polymers to replace their non-biodegradable counterparts derived from fossil resources. Examples include polyhydroxyalkanoates and polylactic acid, which act as substitutes for polyolefins. By contrast, the biotechnological production of non-biodegradable polymers from renewable resources has so far been scarcely considered, probably because this idea contradicts the paradigm that all natural compounds are biodegradable. Polythioesters, which were recently described as new biopolymers, do not follow this paradigm because although they are produced by bacteria, they are persistent to microbial degradation. Mankind has a need for both non-biodegradable and biodegradable polymers and methods to produce them from renewable resources will be of great value.     

Balancing exploitation of renewable resources by a robot swarm

Renewable resources like fish stock or forests should be exploited at a rate that supports regeneration and sustainability—a complex problem that requires adaptive approaches to maintain a sufficiently high exploitation while avoiding depletion. In the presence of oblivious agents that cannot keep track of all available resources—a frequent condition in swarm robotics—ensuring that the exploitation effort is correctly balanced is particularly challenging. Additionally, the possibility to exploit resources by multiple robots opens the way to focusing the effort either on a single or on multiple resources in parallel. This means that the swarm needs to collectively decide whether to remain cohesive or split among multiple resources, as a function of the ability of the available resources to replenish after exploitation. In this paper, we propose a decentralised strategy for a swarm of robots that adapts to the available resources and balances the effort among them, hence allowing to maximise the exploitation rate while avoiding to completely deplete the resources. A detailed analysis of the strategy parameters provides insights into the working principles and expected performance of the robot swarm.