Engineered Ashbya gossypii for single-cell oil production from non-detoxified Eucalyptus bark hydrolysate

[Excerpt] Ashbya gossypii is a filamentous fungus industrially used for riboflavin production, a bioprocess in which downstream product recovery is facilitated by the ability of this fungus to undergo autolysis during the late stationary phase of growth or at low temperature [1]. In addition to riboflavin, engineered A. gossypii strains are capable of producing other compounds of interest for the food and feed industry, among which Single-Cell Oils (SCOs) from media containing mixed formulations of detoxified corn-cob hydrolysate, sugarcane molasses or crude glycerol [2]. [...]This work was supported by Compete 2020, Portugal 2020 and Lisboa 2020 through MoveToLowC (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-046117) and by FCT through the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 and project ESSEntial (PTDC/BII-BTI/1858/2021).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Preliminary studies on enzymatic deinking

IV Iberian Congress on Biotechnology; I Ibero-American Meeting on Biotechnolog

Characterisation and application of glycanases secreted by aspergillus terreus CCMI 498 and trichoderma viride CCMI 84 for enzymatic deinking of mixed office wastepaper

Two enzymatic extracts obtained from xylan-grown Aspergillus terreus CCMI 498 and cellulose-grown Trichoderma viride CCMI 84 were characterised for different glycanase activities. Both strains produce extracellular endoxylanase and endoglucanase enzymes. The enzymes optimal activity was found in the temperature range of 45-60 ºC. Endoglucanase systems show identical activity profiles towards temperature, regardless of the strain and inducing substrate. Conversely, the endoxylanases produced by both strains showed maximal activity at different pH values (from 4.5 to 5.5), being the more acidic xylanase produced by T. viride grown on cellulose. The endoglucanase activities have an optimum pH at 4.5-5.0. The endoxylanase and endoglucanase activities exhibited high stability at 50 ºC and pH 5.0. Mannanase, β-xylosidase, and amylase activities were also found, being the first two activities only present for T. viride extract. These two enzymatic extracts were used for mixed office wastepaper (MOW) deinking. When the enzymatic extract from T. viride was used, a further increase of 24% in ink removal was obtained by comparison with the control. Both enzymes contributed to the improvement of the paper strength properties and the obtained results clearly indicate that the effective use of enzymes for deinking can also contribute to the pulp and paper properties improvement.PRAXIS/BIO/1133/95. BIC/3087/96, BD/3253/96

Induction of xylanolytic activity by Aureobasidium pullulans using xerographic paper

PRAXIS/BIO/1133/95

Bactérias promotoras de crescimento e adubação nitrogenada no crescimento inicial de cana-de-açúcar proveniente de mudas pré-brotadas

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos da inoculação de bactérias promotoras de crescimento sobre a formação de mudas pré?brotadas de cana?de?açúcar, oriundas de gemas individualizadas, e quantificar o crescimento inicial dessas mudas, em associação à aplicação de nitrogênio, em solo de baixa fertilidade. Foram conduzidos dois experimentos: um em casa de vegetação, com duração de 50 dias, e o outro, em vasos no campo, com duração de 180 dias. Em ambos os experimentos, utilizou-se o delineamento de blocos ao acaso, em arranjo fatorial 2x3, no primeiro experimento ? com ou sem inoculante, e com três quantidades de reserva nas gemas ?, e 2x2x4, no segundo ? com ou sem inoculante, com ou sem nitrogênio, avaliados em quatro épocas: aos 45, 90, 135 e 180 dias. O inoculante produziu efeito na fase inicial de crescimento das mudas pré?brotadas, com aumento na velocidade de brotação e no acúmulo da matéria seca de raízes e da parte aérea, independentemente da quantidade de reserva da gema. No segundo experimento, o inoculante promoveu ganhos no crescimento inicial da parte aérea e do sistema radicular, até os 180 dias após o transplantio, com aumento em altura, perfilhamento, diâmetro do colmo, produção da matéria seca de colmos e de palha e do comprimento radicular, independentemente da aplicação de nitrogênio. O inoculante tem efeito fisiológico positivo sobre o crescimento das plantas

Techno-economic and life-cycle assessments of small-scale biorefineries for isobutene and xylo-oligosaccharides production: a comparative study in Portugal and Chile

ABSTRACT: This work presents a comparative simulation study involving the techno-economic and environmental assessment of lignocellulosic-based small-scale biorefineries, integrated with a piggery waste-based anaerobic digestion platform (ADB), located in Portugal and Chile. Two main products are obtained: isobutene and xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS). The bioproduction of isobutene using a genetically engineered organism (Escherichia coli), coupled with the removal and purification of high added-value XOS, obtained after a feedstock hydrothermal pre-treatment, was evaluated. Two lignocellulosic agricultural wastes were used: corn stover in the Portuguese case study and wheat straw in Chilean case study. Both processes were simulated using the Aspen Plus modeling software tool, while the Aspen Process Economic Analyzer was used to carry out the economic evaluation. The simulation results were validated with experimental data from the laboratory and the literature. An economic assessment was performed considering the different locations of both biorefineries. A life-cycle analysis (LCA) was also applied to evaluate the differences in environmental impacts on both locations. The results showed that the isobutene / XOS biorefinery concept was economically viable in both Portugal and Chile, mainly due to the high market value of XOS. The biorefinery has lower production costs for isobutene and XOS (1 US$/kg of isobutene and 1.18 US$/kg of XOS) when located in Portugal, as compared with Chile (1.14 US$/kg of isobutene and 1.56 US$/kg of XOS). Conversely, it leads to less environmental impact when located in Chile: 48.8 kg(CO2eq.)/GJ(isobutene), in comparison to 60.7 kg(CO2eq.)/GJ(isobutene) in Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comparative life cycle assessment of first- and second-generation ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil

ABSTRACT: Purpose: The use of bagasse and trash from sugarcane fields in ethanol production is supposed to increase the ethanol yield per hectare, to reduce the energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental impacts. In this article, different technological options of ethanol production are investigated and quantified looking at potential environmental impacts. The first generation ethanol from sugarcane is compared to stand-alone second-generation ethanol as well as an integrated first- and second-generation ethanol production. Methods: The method applied for this life cycle assessment follows the ISO standards 14040/44. The data used in this life cycle assessment is mainly derived from process simulation, literature, and primary data collection. Background data was taken from databases such as GaBi and ecoinvent. The life cycle impact assessment follows the default methods at midpoint level recommended by the International Reference Life Cycle Data System. The calculations were performed using the GaBi 7 life cycle assessment software. It is assumed that 50% of sugarcane trash is recovered and used for second-generation ethanol production, whereas the other 50% remain in the field to maintain soil fertility and to prevent soil erosion. In the case of first-generation ethanol, the same amount of trash is used for energy generation. Results and discussion: The results of the life cycle impact assessment show that, compared to first-generation ethanol, secondgeneration ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil allows significant reductions in all investigated impact categories except resource depletion. Resource depletion, however, is strongly influenced by the demand for ammonium phosphate which is needed for inoculum preparation. Integrated first- and second-generation ethanol production also allows reductions in most of the environmental impacts except for global warming, photochemical ozone depletion, and resource depletion. The yield of ethanol per hectare increases since bagasse and trash are used for the production of second-generation ethanol. Consequently, the results show that agricultural land occupation is reduced for integrated first- and second-generation ethanol by approximately 11%, whereas second-generation ethanol allows reduction of land use by approximately a factor of 30. Conclusions: The use of bagasse and trash for ethanol production allows both the reduction of several environmental impacts and land use, in particular, because impacts caused by sugarcane cultivation are avoided. For the integrated first- and second generation ethanol scenario, it is important to further reduce the total energy demand in order to achieve self-sufficiency for the plant energy and to avoid additional emissions from burning fossil fuels.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Preliminary studies on enzymatic applications in the paper industry

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Process simulation and techno-economic assessment for direct production of advanced bioethanol using a genetically modified Synechocystis sp.

ABSTRACT: A techno-economic assessment for the direct production of ethanol using a genetically-modified microalgae has been studied. It was considered two main scenarios for process modelling: i) bioenergy-driven microalgae plant, i.e., focused on the production of fuel-grade ethanol and biogas for CHP and, ii) biorefinery-driven microalgae plant, focused on the recovery of added-value bioproducts (zeaxanthin and phycocyanin) along with ethanol and CHP production. These main scenarios and several variants were modelled and optimized for a small-scale demo plant of 1000 Lethanol/day and extrapolated for larger production capacities. Results showed that despite the innovative approach of direct production of ethanol by microalgae, the bioenergy-driven scenario is non-feasible under the studied conditions. Conversely, ethanol production becomes economically feasible as co-product in the biorefinery-driven scenario although having payback periods>10 years. Furthermore, if only bio-based products are produced the NPV and the payback are even more positive, 104.8 M€ and ca. 5 years, respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análise do impacto do processo organosolv para pré-tratamento de biomassa lenhocelulósica na redução das emissões de gases com efeito de estufa (GEE)

CIES2020 - XVII Congresso Ibérico e XIII Congresso Ibero-americano de Energia SolarRESUMO: No âmbito do projeto H2020 AMBITION, foram desenvolvidos processos de pré-tratamento inovadores e energeticamente eficientes, a fim de serem integrados num conceito de melhoria do processamento da biomassa para a produção de correntes líquidas de açúcares e derivados de lenhina para aplicações em bioenergia e produtos de valor acrescentado. O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em analisar os impactos ambientais do pré-tratamento organosolv de biomassa (palha de trigo e resíduos de eucalipto) utilizando misturas etanol/água, a fim de avaliar a sua integração num processo multiproduto de modo a originar elevados rendimentos de açúcares e recuperar lenhina de alta qualidade num conceito de biorrefinaria. O processo foi simulado em SuperPro Designer (Intelligen Inc.) para determinar os balanços de massa e energia, bem como para desenvolver o Inventário de Ciclo de Vida (LCI). A Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) foi realizada utilizando o software SimaPro 9.0 (PRé Consultants BV) com a base de dados Ecoinvent 3.5, sendo comparada com os processos clássicos de pré-tratamento à escala industrial (e.g. explosão com vapor). O processo organosolv com etanol e para uma razão líquido-sólido (RLS) padrão de 10, apresenta resultados em termos de emissões de GEE (numa abordagem gate-to-gate) ligeiramente superiores aos obtidos para a explosão com vapor, concluindo-se posteriormente que na tecnologia organosolv, só a redução da RLS pode conduzir a melhorias significativas em termos ambientais.ABSTRACT: Within the H2020 AMBITION project, innovative and energy efficient pre-treatment processes were developed in order to be integrated in a biomass processing improvement concept that would produce liquid streams of sugars and lignin derivatives for applications in bioenergy and added-value products. The objective of this work is to analyse the environmental impacts of organosolv pre-treatment of biomass (wheat straw and eucalyptus residues) using ethanol/water mixtures in order to assess its integration in a multi-product process to produce high sugar yields and recover high quality lignin in a biorefinery concept. The process was modelled in SuperPro Designer (Intelligen Inc.) to determine mass and energy balances as well as to develop the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed using SimaPro 9.0 software (PRé Consultants BV) with the Ecoinvent 3.5 database and compared with classical industrial scale pre-treatment processes (e.g. steam explosion). The organosolv process with ethanol with a standard liquid-to-solid ratio (LSR) of 10, presents, in terms of GHG emissions (in a gate-to-gate approach), slightly higher GHG emissions than those obtained for the steam explosion, leading to the conclusion that a reduction in the solid-liquid ratio in organosolv technology causes significant environmental improvements.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio