Metabolic engineering of Rhizopus oryzae for the production of platform chemicals

Rhizopus oryzae is a filamentous fungus belonging to the Zygomycetes. It is among others known for its ability to produce the sustainable platform chemicals l-(+)-lactic acid, fumaric acid, and ethanol. During glycolysis, all fermentable carbon sources are metabolized to pyruvate and subsequently distributed over the pathways leading to the formation of these products. These platform chemicals are produced in high yields on a wide range of carbon sources. The yields are in excess of 85 % of the theoretical yield for l-(+)-lactic acid and ethanol and over 65 % for fumaric acid. The study and optimization of the metabolic pathways involved in the production of these compounds requires well-developed metabolic engineering tools and knowledge of the genetic makeup of this organism. This review focuses on the current metabolic engineering techniques available for R. oryzae and their application on the metabolic pathways of the main fermentation products

Anaerobic digestion and gasification of seaweed

The potential of algal biomass as a source of liquid and gaseous biofuels is a highly topical theme, with over 70 years of sometimes intensive research and considerable financial investment. A wide range of unit operations can be combined to produce algal biofuel, but as yet there is no successful commercial system producing such biofuel. This suggests that there are major technical and engineering difficulties to be resolved before economically viable algal biofuel production can be achieved. Both gasification and anaerobic digestion have been suggested as promising methods for exploiting bioenergy from biomass, and two major projects have been funded in the UK on the gasification and anaerobic digestion of seaweed, MacroBioCrude and SeaGas. This chapter discusses the use of gasification and anaerobic digestion of seaweed for the production of biofuel

Diesel engine performance and emission study using soybean biodiesel blends with fossil diesel

Azad, M ORCiD: 0000-0001-8258-6057; Rasul, M ORCiD: 0000-0001-8159-1321Biodiesel is an ecofriendly and renewable source of energy which can be used as a sustainable alternative fuel for diesel engine. The study investigated engine performance and emission using soybean biodiesel blends with fossil diesel. The physiochemical fuel properties of the biodiesel were determined using ASTM and EN standards. The biodiesel was blended in different proportions like 5% biodiesel and 95% diesel (by volume) denoted as B5, similarly B10, B20 and B50. The biodiesel blends were tested in a multicylinder, diesel engine coupled with electromagnetic dynamometer, under ISO 8178–4 test procedure. The study found that the biodiesel blends produce less brake power, brake torque and relatively higher brake-specific fuel consumption compared with diesel fuel. However, these fuels significantly reduce exhaust gases, namely, CO, CO2 and HC but emit a bit more NOx compared with diesel. The reduction in emissions were different for each biodiesel blend. The study concluded that both B5 and B10 blends are the optimum blends that produce more consistent and expected results compared with other blends