Wax production from renewable feedstock using biocatalysts instead of fossil feedstock and conventional methods

Background, aim, and scope

Using renewable feedstock and introducing biocatalysts in the chemical industry have been suggested as the key strategies to reduce the environmental impact of chemicals. The Swedish interdisciplinary research program “Speciality Chemicals from Renewable Resources—Greenchem” is aiming to develop these strategies. One target group of chemicals for Greenchem are wax esters which can be used in wood coatings to replace paraffin wax made from fossil crude oil. The aim of this study was to conduct a life cycle assessment of wax esters based on rapeseed oil produced by biocatalysts (enzymes). The scope was to compare the environmental performance of wax esters with paraffin wax produced by conventional methods.

Materials and methods

The study has a cradle-to-gate perspective and the functional unit is “1-kg wax product ready to use in a wood coating product.” Extensive data collection and calculations have been performed for the wax esters, whereas existing life cycle inventory data have been used for the paraffin wax.

Results

The energy input into the wax ester production is about one third of the energy input in paraffin wax production. However, the wax ester has a higher contribution to the global warming potential (GWP) due to high emissions of nitrous oxide from rapeseed cultivation. Referring to a cradle-to-grave perspective, including waste incineration, the contribution to the GWP will, however, be 3.5 times higher from paraffin wax. Wax ester makes a higher contribution to the acidification and eutrophication potential, due to emissions from soil from rapeseed cultivation, but five times lower contribution to the photochemical ozone creation potential. From a land-use perspective and a global warming point of view, it is more efficient to produce paraffin wax and grow high-yielding, short-rotation coppice (Salix) to replace fuel oil than it is to grow rapeseed for wax ester production.

Discussion

Overall, this study shows the importance of studying the environmental performance of a product not only from a gate-to-gate perspective but, instead, considering the environmental performance from cradle-to-gate. The biocatalytic production of the wax ester consumes less energy than the conventional chemical method, but the raw material step, cultivation of rapeseed contributes much to both acidification and eutrophication. When the waste treatment step is included, the contribution to GWP, however, for paraffin wax will be 3.5 times higher than for the wax ester.

Conclusions

From a gate-to-gate perspective, replacing conventional chemical processes by biocatalysts using enzymes leads to energy savings and reduces emissions. However, from a cradle-to-gate perspective, the use of renewable feedstock, such as rapeseed oil, may counteract some of these benefits. Concerning the GWP benefit from using renewable feedstock instead of fossil feedstock, the final waste treatment step must be included, thereby applying a cradle-to-grave perspective.

Recommendations and perspectives

The introduction of biocatalysts as a key strategy in reducing the environmental impact from the chemical industry is supported by the results in this study. On the other hand, it is not obvious that the key strategy of using renewable feedstock in chemical production per se leads to benefits concerning all environmental impact categories. Thus, much more attention needs to be paid to the choice of potential renewable feedstock options, the minimization of energy inputs, and the biological emissions from the soil in the cultivation of feedstock crops, improved gas cleaning in nitrogen fertilizer production plants, and the alternative use of the arable land, in optimizing the overall environmental benefits of an increased use of renewable feedstock in the chemical industry.     

Coupling the fermentation and membrane separation process for polyamides monomer cadaverine production from feedstock lysine

Nylon is a polyamide material with excellent performance used widely in the aviation and automobile industries, and other fields. Nylon monomers such as hexamethylene diamine and other monomers are in huge demand. Therefore, in order to expand the methods of nylon production, we tried to develop alternative bio‐manufacturing processes which would make a positive contribution to the nylon industry. In this study, the engineered E. coli‐overexpressing Lysine decarboxylases (LDCs) were used for the bioconversion of l‐lysine to cadaverine. An integrated fermentation and microfiltration (MF) process for high‐level cadaverine production by E. coli was established. Concentration was increased from 87 to 263.6 g/L cadaverine after six batch coupling with a productivity of 3.65 g/L‐h. The cadaverine concentration was also increased significantly from 0.43 g cadaverine/g l‐lysine to 0.88 g cadaverine/g l‐lysine by repeated batch fermentation. These experimental results indicate that coupling the fermentation and membrane separation process could benefit the continuous production of cadaverine at high levels.     

Biodiesel production from rice bran by a two-step in-situ process

The production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) by a two-step in-situ transesterification from two kinds of rice bran was investigated in this study. The method included an in-situ acid-catalyzed esterification followed by an in-situ base-catalyzed transesterification. Free fatty acids (FFAs) level was reduced to less than 1% for both rice bran A (initial FFAs content = 3%) and rice bran B (initial FFAs content = 30%) in the first step under the following conditions: 10 g rice bran, methanol to rice bran ratio 15 mL/g, H₂SO₄ to rice bran mass ratio 0.18, 60 °C reaction temperature, 600 rpm stirring rate, 15 min reaction time. The organic phase of the first step product was collected and subjected to a second step reaction by adding 8 mL of 5 N NaOH solution and allowing to react for 60 and 30 min for rice bran A and rice bran B, respectively. FAMEs yields of 96.8% and 97.4% were obtained for rice bran A and rice bran B, respectively, after this two-step in-situ reaction.     

A two-step fermentation process for efficient production of penta-N-acetyl-chitopentaose in recombinant Escherichia coli

The nodC gene from Mesorhizobium loti was cloned into E. coli, leading to production of chitin oligosaccharides (COs)—mainly penta-N-acetyl-chitopentaose. A two-step fermentation procedure was then developed which gave 930 mg CO/L with a productivity of 37 mg/l·h.     

1,3-Propanediol oxidoreductase production with Klebsiella pneumoniae DSM2026

We report a Klebsiella pneumoniae DSM2026 fermentation procedure for the efficient production of a key enzyme of 1,3-propanediol formation: 1,3-propanediol oxidoreductase (E.C. 1.1.1.202). The fermentation process is composed of an aerobic batch phase on glucose and glycerol and an anaerobic phase on glycerol. The role of the aerobic phase is to produce sufficiently high cell mass (12.9–14.6 g/l dry weight) and to activate the aerobic branch of the Klebsiella glycerol pathway, whereas in the anaerobic phase there is a rapid initiation of 1,3-propanediol oxidoreductase formation. A fast change from an aerobic to an anaerobic environment led to a redox imbalance, which resulted in the abrupt activation of the anaerobic branch of glycerol utilization, with the occurrence of a high 1,3-propanediol-oxidoreductase activity. A mathematical model with substrate inhibition showed that the adequate glycerol concentration for enzyme production was 14–16 g/l. The combination of the optimal substrate concentration together with the subsequent use of glucose and glycerol resulted in 90.6 ± 11.6 U enzyme activity referred to 1 l of fermentation broth and 10.3 ± 0.9 U/(1 h) productivity.     

A novel two-step fermentation process for improved arachidonic acid production by Mortierella alpina

A novel two-step fermentation process was developed to enhance arachidonic acid (ARA) production by Mortierella alpina ME-1 in a 5 l fermentor. Agitation speed and aeration rate were adjusted from 180 to 40 rpm and from 0.6 to1 vvm, respectively, after 5 days cultivation, to decrease physical damage to the mycelia and to extend the stationary phase. Moreover, 3% (w/v) and 2% (w/v) ethanol were fed after 5 and 7 days cultivation, respectively, to enhance ARA content of total lipid. Eventually, an ARA yield of 19.8 g/l was achieved, which was 1.7 times higher than that of a one-step fed-batch cultivation.     

1,3-Propanediol production by Klebsiella pneumoniae under different aeration strategies

1,3-Propanediol production by Klebsiella pneumoniae was studied in batch cultures under N2 flow and four airflow systems. Different byproducts were formed under different aeration conditions. An anaerobic/aerobic combined fed-batch culture was developed giving 70 g 1,3-propanediol l(-1) and 16 g 2,3-butanediol l(-1) with total diol yield of 0.6 mol(-1) glycerol.     

Saccharina japonica,a potential feedstock for pigment production using submerged fermentation

In this study, the feasibility and applicability of marine algal biomass Saccharina (Laminaria) japonica as a sole substrate for the production of pigments by Talaromyces amestolkiae GT11 in submerged fermentation was evaluated. Results indicated that the fungus T. amestolkiae GT11 produced the highest amount of extracellular yellow (444.83 ± 22) and red (200.94 ± 12), and intracellular yellow (362.28 ± 34) and red (193.87 ± 10) pigments, utilizing 1% (w/v) of S. japonica powder at an initial pH of 5 and 30°C, as compared to other physiochemical parameters tested. The pH and thermostability analysis results demonstrated that even after 5 h of incubation the pigment was found to be highly stable at pH 6 and 40 ~ 60°C with 98% and 90.56 ~ 84.69% of residual absorbance, respectively. Apart from the application of pigment as a natural colorant instead of synthetic one in biotechnology industry, the fermented substrate itself can be exploited as food and feed with enhanced nutrient content, improved protein quality and fiber digestibility, etc. However, further studies concerning the safety and functional properties of the pigment and fermented substrate are required. Furthermore, this study provides the evidences about the biological method of making easily fermentable biomass for biorefiners or other metabolite production.     

Microbial renewable feedstock utilization: a substrate-oriented approach

Increasingly lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates are used as the feedstock for industrial fermentations. These biomass hydrolysates consist of complex mixtures of different fermentable sugars, but also contain inhibitors and salts that affect the performance of the product-generating microbes. The performance of six industrially relevant microorganisms, i.e., two bacteria (Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum), two yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis) and two fungi (Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma reesei) were compared for their ability to utilize and grow on different feedstock hydrolysates (corn stover, wheat straw, sugar cane bagasse and willow wood). Moreover, the ability of the selected hosts to utilize waste glycerol from the biodiesel industry was evaluated. P. stipitis and A. niger were found to be the most versatile and C. glutamicum, and S. cerevisiae were shown to be the least adapted to renewable feedstocks. Clear differences in the utilization of the more abundant carbon sources in these feedstocks were observed between the different species. Moreover, in a species-specific way the production of various metabolites, in particular polyols, alcohols and organic acids was observed during fermentation. Based on the results obtained we conclude that a substrate-oriented instead of the more commonly used product oriented approach towards the selection of a microbial production host will avoid the requirement for extensive metabolic engineering. Instead of introducing multiple substrate utilization and detoxification routes to efficiently utilize lignocellulosic hydrolysates only one biosynthesis route forming the product of interest has to be engineered.     

A novel downstream process for 1,3-propanediol from glycerol-based fermentation

In this paper, a downstream process for purification of 1,3-propanediol from glycerol-based fermentation broth was investigated. The purification of 1,3-propanediol from fermentation broth was achieved by a process combining microfiltration, charcoal treatment, vacuum distillation, and silica gel chromatography. The broth was first filtered through hollow fiber cartridge, wherein 98.7% of biomass was removed. Soluble proteins and other color impurities in the broth were removed by the use of activated charcoal at optimal concentration of 30 g l⁻¹ where the soluble proteins in the broth decreased to 0.1 g l⁻¹ (96.0% protein loss). The obtained broth when concentrated by vacuum distillation resulted in the crystallization of inorganic salts. Subsequently, 1,3-propanediol was purified by gradient chromatography using silica gel as a stationary phase and mixture of chloroform and methanol as a mobile phase. Finally, with the optimal flow rate of 10 ml min⁻¹ and loading amount of 80 ml, the yield of 1,3-propanediol achieved was 89%. The overall yield of 1,3-propanediol using the proposed procedure was 75.47%. The developed method was found to be a simple, rapid, and efficient procedure for the purification of 1,3-propanediol from fermentation broth.     

1,3-Propanediol production by Escherichia coli expressing genes from the Klebsiella pneumoniae dha regulon.

The dha regulon in Klebsiella pneumoniae enables the organism to grow anaerobically on glycerol and produce 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD). Escherichia coli, which does not have a dha system, is unable to grow anaerobically on glycerol without an exogenous electron acceptor and does not produce 1,3-PD. A genomic library of K. pneumoniae ATCC 25955 constructed in E. coli AG1 was enriched for the ability to grow anaerobically on glycerol and dihydroxyacetone and was screened for the production of 1,3-PD. The cosmid pTC1 (42.5 kb total with an 18.2-kb major insert) was isolated from a 1,3-PD-producing strain of E. coli and found to possess enzymatic activities associated with four genes of the dha regulon: glycerol dehydratase (dhaB), 1,3-PD oxidoreductase (dhaT), glycerol dehydrogenase (dhaD), and dihydroxyacetone kinase (dhaK). All four activities were inducible by the presence of glycerol. When E. coli AG1/pTC1 was grown on complex medium plus glycerol, the yield of 1,3-PD from glycerol was 0.46 mol/mol. The major fermentation by-products were formate, acetate, and D-lactate. 1,3-PD is an intermediate in organic synthesis and polymer production. The 1,3-PD fermentation provides a useful model system for studying the interaction of a biochemical pathway in a foreign host and for developing strategies for metabolic pathway engineering.     

1,3-Propanediol production by Escherichia coli expressing genes from the Klebsiella pneumoniae dha regulon.

The dha regulon in Klebsiella pneumoniae enables the organism to grow anaerobically on glycerol and produce 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD). Escherichia coli, which does not have a dha system, is unable to grow anaerobically on glycerol without an exogenous electron acceptor and does not produce 1,3-PD. A genomic library of K. pneumoniae ATCC 25955 constructed in E. coli AG1 was enriched for the ability to grow anaerobically on glycerol and dihydroxyacetone and was screened for the production of 1,3-PD. The cosmid pTC1 (42.5 kb total with an 18.2-kb major insert) was isolated from a 1,3-PD-producing strain of E. coli and found to possess enzymatic activities associated with four genes of the dha regulon: glycerol dehydratase (dhaB), 1,3-PD oxidoreductase (dhaT), glycerol dehydrogenase (dhaD), and dihydroxyacetone kinase (dhaK). All four activities were inducible by the presence of glycerol. When E. coli AG1/pTC1 was grown on complex medium plus glycerol, the yield of 1,3-PD from glycerol was 0.46 mol/mol. The major fermentation by-products were formate, acetate, and D-lactate. 1,3-PD is an intermediate in organic synthesis and polymer production. The 1,3-PD fermentation provides a useful model system for studying the interaction of a biochemical pathway in a foreign host and for developing strategies for metabolic pathway engineering.     

Construction and Characterization of a 1,3-Propanediol Operon

The genes for the production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) in Klebsiella pneumoniae, dhaB, which encodes glycerol dehydratase, and dhaT, which encodes 1,3-PD oxidoreductase, are naturally under the control of two different promoters and are transcribed in different directions. These genes were reconfigured into an operon containing dhaB followed by dhaT under the control of a single promoter. The operon contains unique restriction sites to facilitate replacement of the promoter and other modifications. In a fed-batch cofermentation of glycerol and glucose, Escherichia coli containing the operon consumed 9.3 g of glycerol per liter and produced 6.3 g of 1,3-PD per liter. The fermentation had two distinct phases. In the first phase, significant cell growth occurred and the products were mainly 1,3-PD and acetate. In the second phase, very little growth occurred and the main products were 1,3-PD and pyruvate. The first enzyme in the 1,3-PD pathway, glycerol dehydratase, requires coenzyme B₁₂, which must be provided in E. coli fermentations. However, the amount of coenzyme B₁₂ needed was quite small, with 10 nM sufficient for good 1,3-PD production in batch cofermentations. 1,3-PD is a useful intermediate in the production of polyesters. The 1,3-PD operon was designed so that it can be readily modified for expression in other prokaryotic hosts; therefore, it is useful for metabolic engineering of 1,3-PD pathways from glycerol and other substrates such as glucose.     

Biohydrogen production from lignocellulosic feedstock

Due to the recent energy crisis and rising concern over climate change, the development of clean alternative energy sources is of significant interest. Biohydrogen produced from cellulosic feedstock, such as second generation feedstock (lignocellulosic biomass) and third generation feedstock (carbohydrate-rich microalgae), is a promising candidate as a clean, CO₂-neutral, non-polluting and high efficiency energy carrier to meet the future needs. This article reviews state-of-the-art technology on lignocellulosic biohydrogen production in terms of feedstock pretreatment, saccharification strategy, and fermentation technology. Future developments of integrated biohydrogen processes leading to efficient waste reduction, low CO₂ emission and high overall hydrogen yield is discussed.     

Model-based design and integration of a two-step biopharmaceutical production process

This paper presents the design of a two-step process in which the first step is PEGylation of a protein, and the second step is chromatographic purification of the target mono-PEGylated protein from the unreacted and the di-PEGylated impurities. The difference between optimizing each process step separately and optimizing them simultaneously is studied. It was found that by optimizing the steps simultaneously up to a 100 % increase in productivity could be obtained without reduction in yield. Optimizing both steps at the same time makes it possible for the optimization method to take into account that the di-PEGylated protein is much easier to separate than the non-PEGylated protein. The easier separation makes it possible to get a higher yield and productivity at the same time. The effect of recycling was also studied and the yield could be increased by 30 % by recycling the unreacted protein. However, if maximum productivity is required, batch mode is preferable.     

木薯原料生产燃料乙醇

以下介绍了我国木薯原料生产燃料乙醇的最新进展,并对我国的木薯资源分布作了分析,特别强调了木薯资源占全国总产量的65%以上的广西壮族自治区在我国发展木薯原料燃料乙醇过程中所起的重要作用,在此基础上对我国发展木薯原料燃料乙醇所遇到的困难和挑战进行了分析,并根据国内外的科技进展对如何克服这些困难提出了几个可能的解决方案。     

1,3-Propanediol production and tolerance of a halophilic fermentative bacterium, Halanaerobium saccharolyticum subsp. saccharolyticum

1,3-Propanediol (1,3-PD) is widely used in polymer industry in production of polyethers, polyesters and polyurethanes. In this article, a study on 1,3-PD production and tolerance of Halanaerobium saccharolyticum subsp. saccharolyticum is presented. 1,3-PD production was optimized for temperature, vitamin B(12) and acetate concentration. The highest 1,3-PD concentrations and yields (0.6 mol/mol glycerol) were obtained at vitamin B?? concentration 64 μg/l and an inverse correlation between 1,3-PD and hydrogen production was observed with varying vitamin B?? concentrations. In the studied temperature range and initial acetate concentrations up to 10 g/l, no significant variations were observed in 1,3-PD production. High initial acetate (29-58 g/l) was observed to cause slight decrease in 1,3-PD concentrations produced but no effects on 1,3-PD yields (mol/mol glycerol). Initial 1,3-PD concentrations inhibited the growth of H. saccharolyticum subsp. saccharolyticum. When initial 1,3-PD concentration was raised from 1g/l to 57 g/l, a decrease of 12% to 75%, respectively, in the highest optical density was observed.     

Biogas production and valorization by means of a two-step biological process

The scope of this research work was to investigate biogas production and purification by a two-step bench-scale biological system, consisting of fed-batch pulse-feeding anaerobic digestion of mixed sludge, followed by methane enrichment of biogas by the use of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis. The composition of biogas was nearly constant, and methane and carbon dioxide percentages ranged between 70.5–76.0% and 13.2–19.5%, respectively. Biogas yield reached a maximum value (about 0.4 m³_biogas/kgCOD_i) at 50 days-retention time and then gradually decreased with a decrease in the retention time. Biogas CO₂ was then used as a carbon source for A. platensis cultivation either under batch or fed-batch conditions. The mean cell productivity of fed-batch cultivation was about 15% higher than that observed during the last batch phase (0.035 ± 0.006 g_DM/L/d), likely due to the occurrence of some shading effect under batch growth conditions. The data of carbon dioxide removal from biogas revealed the existence of a linear relationship between the rates of A. platensis growth and carbon dioxide removal from biogas and allowed calculating carbon utilization efficiency for biomass production of almost 95%.     

Statistical analysis and optimization of biodiesel production from waste coffee grounds by a two-step process

Biodiesel was produced using waste coffee grounds (WCGs) via a two-step process comprising lipid extraction and subsequent transesterification steps. Each step was statistically analyzed, and optimum conditions for each step were suggested. WCGs were found to have 16.4% lipid content with 1.9% free fatty acid (FFA) content. The liquid-solid ratio (LSR) significantly influenced lipid extraction from WCGs, while extraction time and temperature did not; 92.7% of lipid extraction efficiency was achieved at 13.7 mL-hexane/g-WCGs, 30 min of extraction time, and 25°C. Owing to the relatively low FFA content, an alkaline catalyst (NaOH) reaction was used that requires less amount of catalyst, methanol, and shorter reaction time compared to an acid catalyst reaction. Reaction time and temperature were the major factors affecting biodiesel conversion, and 94.0% of biodiesel conversion was obtained at optimum conditions for transesterification: 0.5% catalyst, 1.5 mL-methanol/g-lipid, 45°C, and 9 h of reaction time. With the use of statistical analysis tools, high lipid extraction efficiency and biodiesel conversion were achieved at relatively mild conditions, which would reduce biodiesel production cost substantially.