Protease productivity in chemostat fermentations with retention of biomass on suspended particles

Retention of bacterial biomass (Bacillus firmus) in a chemostat by a new carrier material, Luxopor, led to increased productivity of protease. Luxopor is a porous mineral product of irregular shape. When these particles are put into a fermenter, aeration and stirring make them float. Fermenters with Luxopor loadings of 200 and 500 g l^?1 were run as chemostats parallel to a control chemostat without it. The Luxopor particles contained >50% of the biomass in the chemostats (50 mg dry cell weight g^?1), which had a higher biomass and protease activity in the culture fluid than the control chemostat. The overall protease productivity was up to four times higher than that of the control.     

Non-sterile fermentations for the economical biochemical conversion of renewable feedstocks

Heavy reliance on petroleum-based products drives continuous exploitation of fossil fuels, and results in serious environmental and climate problems. To address such an issue, there is a shift from petroleum sources to renewable ones. Biochemical conversion via fermentation is a primary platform for converting renewable sources to biofuels and bulk chemicals. In order to provide cost-competitive alternatives, it is imperative to develop efficient, cost-saving, and robust fermentation processes. Non-sterile fermentation offers several benefits compared to sterile fermentation, including elimination of sterility, reduced maintenance requirements, relatively simple bioreactor design, and simplified operation. Thus, cost effectiveness of non-sterile fermentation makes it a practical platform for low cost, large volume production of biofuels and bulk chemicals. Many approaches have been developed to conduct non-sterile fermentation without sacrificing the yields and productivities of fermentation products. This review focuses on the strategies for conducting non-sterile fermentation. The challenges facing non-sterile fermentation are also discussed.     

Effect of hot water extraction and liquid hot water pretreatment on the fungal degradation of biomass feedstocks

Exhaustive hot water extraction (HWE) and liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment were evaluated for their effects on degradation of biomass feedstocks (i.e., corn stover, wheat straw, and soybean straw) by Ceriporiopsis subvermispora. HWE (85 °C for 10 min) partially removed water soluble extractives and subsequently improved fungal degradation on wheat straw while it had little or no effect on the fungal degradation of corn stover and soybean straw. In contrast, LHW pretreatment at 170 °C for 3 min improved the fungal degradation of soybean straw; thus, lignin removal of 36.70% and glucose yield of 64.25% were obtained from the combined LHW and fungal pretreatment. However, corn stover, which was effectively degraded by fungal pretreatment alone, was less affected by this combined pretreatment. Our results indicated that a HWE or LHW pretreatment conducted under mild conditions worked synergistically with fungal degradation for some recalcitrant feedstocks.     

操作条件对生物质催化热解产轻质芳烃的影响

以轻质芳烃苯、甲苯、二甲苯以及萘（BTXN）为目的产物,采用双颗粒流化床对松木进行了催化热分解实验。讨论了催化剂CoMo-B加氢催化作用下,静止床高、流化气速、床层压降的相互关系,得到了一个合适的操作条件,为热分解实验提供了必要的基础实验数据。在热分解实验中,调查了操作气速、床层高度以及热解温度对产物收率和分布的影响,得到了中间产物苯、甲苯、二甲苯和萘等轻质芳烃化合物最高收率为6．3％下的最佳操作条件：催化剂为CoMo-B,气速2．0cm／s,床层高度为0．08m,热解温度863K。     

Enhancement of 2-phenylethanol productivity by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in two-phase fed-batch fermentations using solvent immobilization

The bioconversion of L-phenylalanine to 2-phenylethanol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in fed-batch experiments has shown that concentrations of 2-phenylethanol of >2.9 g/L have a negative impact on the oxidative capacity of the yeast. Without tight control on ethanol production, and hence on the feed rate, ethanol rapidly accumulates in the culture media, resulting in complete inhibition of cell growth before the maximal 2-phenylethanol concentration of 3.8 g/L, obtained in the absence of ethanol production, could be achieved. This effect was attributed to a cumulative effect of ethanol and 2-phenylethanol, which reduced the tolerance of the cells for these two products. To enhance the productivity of the bioconversion, a novel in situ product recovery strategy, based on the entrapment of an organic solvent (dibutylsebacate) into a polymeric matrix of polyethylene to form a highly absorbent and chemically and mechanically stable composite resin, was developed. Immobilization of the organic solvent successfully prevented phase toxicity of the solvent and allowed for an efficient removal of 2-phenylethanol from the bioreactor without the need for prior cell separation. The use of the composite resin increased the volumetric productivity of 2-phenylethanol by a factor 2 and significantly facilitated downstream processing, because no stable emulsion was formed. The 2-phenylethanol could be backextracted from the composite resin, yielding a concentrated and almost cell-free solution. In comparison to two-phase extractive fermentations with cells immobilized in alginate-reinforced chitosan beads, the use of a composite resin was extremely inexpensive and simple. In addition, the composite resin was found to be insensitive to abrasion and chemically stable, such that sterilization with 2 M NaOH or heat was possible. Finally, the composite resin could be produced on a large scale using commercially available equipment.     

Measurement of yeast concentrations in liquid hydrocarbon fermentations: influence of experimental conditions and statistical significance of the results obtained

The influence of the following factors on the measurement of yeast concentration in liquid hydrocarbon fermentations was studied: surfactant, type (Tween 20, Tween 80, and G 3300), yeast concentration (0.215 to 0.272 and 3.37 to 4.08 g/liter, as dry matter), oil concentration (8.32 and 61.6 g/liter), surfactant, concentration (0.515, 1.030, 1.545, and 2.060 g/liter), and time of contact of the surfactant with the oil-yeast-aqueous medium mixture (2 and 10 min). The statistical significance of the obtained results was determined.     

Variations in inocula and their influence on the productivity of antibiotic fermentations

Summary Inocula, used for the production of penicillin and griseofulvin, giving different yields, were investigated. Biochemical factors, such as the level of enzyme activity and efficiency, were at least as important as morphology in determining yield, being carried forward from the inoculum to the production stage.     

On the evaluation of productivity in hydrocarbon fermentation

Direct and indirect methods of the assessment of growth rate (productivity) in hydrocarbon fermentation are briefly reviewed. The application of an indirect method, based on alkali consumption at constant pH, is discussed from the viewpoint of varying protein content in the biomass dry weight. An automatic control of substrate addition based on the indirect method is suggested.     

Variation in net primary productivity and biomass of forests in the high mountains of Central Himalaya

Abstract. This study describes the biomass and net primary productivity of the forests of Central Himalaya occurring in areas where vegetation ranges from close-canopy broad-leaved forest to stunted open-canopy timberline vegetation. The forests studied were Acer cappadocicum forest at 2750 m, Betula utilis forest at 3150 m, and Rhododendron campanulatum forest at 3300 m altitude in Central Himalaya. With the rise in altitude the forest biomass decreased from 308.3 ton/ha in Acer forest to 40.5 ton/ha in Rhododendron forest. The decrease in net primary productivity was less steep, from 19.6 ton/ha/yr in Acer forest to 10.0 ton/ha/yr in Rhododendron forest. The production efficiency of leaves (net production per unit leaf weight) in these forests is higher than in low altitude broad-leaved forests of Central Himalaya, i.e. from 2.89 in Acer forest to 3.41 g net production/g leaf biomass/yr, against 0.81-1.55 at lower altitudes.     

Response of ecosystem CO2 exchange to biomass productivity in a high yield grassland

We measured the biomass production and ecosystem carbon CO₂ exchange in a high yield grassland dominated by Miscanthus sinensis. The experimental grassland is managed by mowing once a year in winter every year and the harvested biomass on the ground is left to become the humus. The maximum aboveground and belowground biomasses were 1117 and 2803 g d.w. m^?2 in our grassland. Although the high potential of our grassland for biomass production led to higher carbon uptake than with other types of grassland, the large biomass contributed to a higher respired carbon loss. Biomass increase led to a linear increase in ecosystem respiration. Over the 3 years, RE₁₀ increased with increasing aboveground biomass. The potential gross primary production at a photosynthetic photon flux density of 2000 μmol m² s^?1 logarithmic increased with LAI. These responses of CO₂ exchange to biomass production suggest this grassland behaved as weak CO₂ sink or near carbon neutral (?78 and 17 g C m^?2 year^?1) in current management.     

Production of hydrocarbon fuels from biomass using catalytic pyrolysis under helium and hydrogen environments

This study is focused on hydrocarbon production through changing carrier gas and using zeolite catalysts during pyrolysis. A large reduction in high molecular weight, oxygenated compounds was noticed when the carrier gas was changed from helium to hydrogen during pyrolysis. A catalytic pyrolysis was conducted using two different methods based on how the biomass and catalysts were contacted together. For both methods, there was no significant change in the carbon yield with the change in pyrolysis environment. However, the mixing-method produced higher aromatic hydrocarbons than the bed-method. In addition, two methods were also tested using two ratios of biomass to catalyst. Nonetheless, there was no significant increase in hydrocarbon yield as the catalyst loading was increased from two to five times of biomass in the catalyst-bed method. In contrast to this, a significant increase was noticed for the catalytic-mixing method when the biomass to catalyst loading was increased from 1:4 to 1:9.     

Improved method of analysis of biomass sugars using high-performance liquid chromatography

The precise quantitative analysis of biomass derived sugars is a very important step in the conversion of biomass feedstocks to fuels and chemicals. However, the most accurate method of biomass sugar analysis is based on the gas chromatography analysis of derivatized sugars either as alditol acetates or trimethylsilanes. The derivatization method is time-consuming but the alternative HPLC method cannot resolve most sugars found in biomass hydrolysates. We have demonstrated for the first time that by careful manipulation of the HPLC mobile phase, biomass monomeric sugars (arabinose, xylose, fructose, glucose, mannose, and galactose) can be analyzed quantitatively and there is excellent baseline resolution of all the sugars. This was demonstrated for both standard sugars and corn stover hydrolysates. Our method can also be used to analyze dimmeric sugars (cellobiose and sucrose).     

Maximizing biomass productivity and cell density of Chlorella vulgaris by using light-emitting diode-based photobioreactor

Green microalgae have recently drawn attention as promising organisms for biofuel production; however, the question is whether they can grow sufficient biomass relative to limiting input factors to be economically feasible. We have explored this question by determining how much biomass the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris can produce in photobioreactors based on highly efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs). First, growth results were improved under the less expensive light of 660nm LEDs, developing them in the laboratory to meet the performance levels of the traditional but more expensive 680nm LEDs by adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE). We then optimized several other key parameters, including input superficial gas velocity, CO(2) concentration, light distribution, and growth media in reference to nutrient stoichiometry. Biomass density thereby rose to approximately 20g dry-cell-weight (gDCW) per liter (L). Since the light supply was recognized as a limiting factor, illumination was augmented by optimization at systematic level, providing for a biomass productivity of up to 2.11gDCW/L/day, with a light yield of 0.81 gDCW/Einstein. These figures, which represent the best results ever reported, point to new dimensions in the photoautotrophic performance of microalgal cultures.     

Revealing the beneficial effect of protease supplementation to high gravity beer fermentations using "-omics" techniques

Background  

Addition of sugar syrups to the basic wort is a popular technique to achieve higher gravity in beer fermentations, but it results in dilution of the free amino nitrogen (FAN) content in the medium. The multicomponent protease enzyme Flavourzyme has beneficial effect on the brewer's yeast fermentation performance during high gravity fermentations as it increases the initial FAN value and results in higher FAN uptake, higher specific growth rate, higher ethanol yield and improved flavour profile.