Processing sweet sorghum into bioethanol - an integrated approach

Numerous evidences have been provided that juice of sweet sorghum and the leftover after squeezing, the bagasse can be a proper feedstock for bioethanol production. The possibility to integrate a side stream of sweet sorghum processing into the biomass-to-ethanol process was investigated in this study. The liquid fraction, a side stream of the necessary pretreatment of the bagasse was utilized as carbon source for Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30 to produce cellulase enzymes for biomass conversion. However, to overcome the inhibitory nature of the liquid fraction, pre-adaptation of the fungus on solid media was carried out previous to submerged fermentations. The results show that with this approach the lag phase caused by the inhibitors could be markedly shortened and an enhancement of the final enzyme production could be achieved when comparing the pre-adapted strains to reference

Application of air cathode microbial fuel cells for energy efficient treatment of dairy wastewater

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) offer a promising new solution for wastewater treatment due to their advantageous characteristics: lower energy demand and less excess sludge compared to the conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment technology. In this study, two systems of single chamber air cathode MFCs with a working volume of 14 L were investigated for the energy efficient treatment of dairy wastewater. Biomass-originated carbon cathode and noble-metal free cathode catalyst were applied to meet the demand for a lower investment cost. Influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) was in the range of 900 to 3830 mg L⁻¹, while hydraulic retention time was ~ 2.4 days. Systems provided 156 mW m⁻³ and 170 mW m⁻³ maximum power densities and coulombic efficiencies of 11.5 % and 12.8 % in average. Organic removal efficiency of 71.1 ± 8.0 % was observed when influent COD was between 900 and 1500 mg L⁻¹, however effluent quality and removal efficiency (67.9 ± 12.6 %) deteriorated as influent COD was increased (1500 - 3830 mg L⁻¹). At high influent CODs (over 3000 mg L⁻¹), an organic elimination rate of 0.82 ± 0.11 kg COD m⁻³d⁻¹ was calculated, that can be considered as the upper limit of organic removal in the systems. Based on the results, MFCs may offer a potential solution for small-scale dairy factories for the pretreatment of their effluent to meet the criteria for wastewater discharge to sewer systems. The modular MFC design also facilitates to tailor the system to actual capacity requirements

Microbial fuel cell biosensor for the determination of biochemical oxygen demand of wastewater samples containing readily and slowly biodegradable organics

OBJECTIVES: Single-chamber air cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were applied as biosensors for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) measurement of real wastewaters with considerable suspended and/or slowly biodegradable organic content. RESULTS: The measurement method consists of batch sample injection, continuous measurement of cell voltage and calculation of total charge (Q) gained during the biodegradation of organic content. Diverse samples were analyzed: acetate and peptone samples containing only soluble readily biodegradable substrates; corn starch and milk samples with suspended and colloidal organics; real domestic and brewery wastewaters. Linear regression fitted to the Q vs. BOD5 measurement points of the real wastewaters provided high (> 0.985) R(2) values. Time requirement of the measurement varied from 1 to 4 days, depending on the composition of the sample. CONCLUSIONS: Relative error of BOD measured in the MFCs comparing with BOD5 was less than 10%, thus the method might be a good basis for the development of on-site automatic BOD sensors for real wastewater samples

Single chamber air-cathode microbial fuel cells as biosensors for determination of biodegradable organics

ObjectivesSingle chamber air cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were investigated with sodium-acetate and peptone as test substrates to assess the potential for application as biosensor to determine the concentration of biodegradable organics in water/wastewater samples.ResultsMFCs provided well-reproducible performance at high (>2000mg COD l(-1)Chemical Oxygen Demand) acetate concentration values. Current in the cells proved to be steady from 25 to 35 degrees C, significant decrease was, however, revealed in the current below 20 degrees C. Direct calculation of non-toxic biodegradable substrate concentration in water/wastewater from the current in MFCs is possible only in the non-saturated substrate concentration range due to the Monod-like dependence of the current. This range was determined by a fitted and verified Monod-based kinetic model. Half saturation constant (K-S) values were calculated at 30 degrees C applying different external resistance values (100, 600 and 1000, respectively). In each case K-S remained below 10mg COD l(-1).ConclusionsBiosensors with this particular MFC design and operation are potentially applicable for detecting as low as 5mg COD l(-1) readily biodegradable substrates, and measuring the concentration of these substances up to 50-70mg COD l(-1)

Biomassza hasznosítás kémiai alapfolyamatainak tanulmányozása = Study of fundamental chemical processes of biomass utilization

(1) Biomassza anyagok széles skáláját vizsgáltuk termikus módszerekkel. A hőbomlásról, az égési folyamatokról, és az elgázosításról nyertünk ismereteket, valamint hozzájárultunk egyes biomassza-hasznosítási eljárások során lejátszódó folyamatok mélyebb megértéséhez. Olyan reakciókinetikai modelleket alkalmaztunk, ill. dolgoztunk ki, melyek nagyobb mérési sorozatokon, a kísérleti körülmények széles tartományában írják le a vizsgált termikus reakciókat, és tükrözték a vizsgált minták szerkezetének és felépítésének komplikált voltát. (2) Bioetanol gyártás tématerületen öt szubsztráton (gőzrobbantással előkezelt cukorcirok bagasz, kender, kender pozdorja és kontrollként két modell szubsztrát) vizsgáltuk a Tween 80 és a PEG 4000 adalékanyagok hatását különböző hőmérsékleteken. Kísérleteinkben kimutattuk, hogy ezen adalékanyagok hozzáadásával növelhető a szubsztrátok enzimes lebontásának hatékonysága. Cukorcirok alapú technológiák anyag- és energiamérlegének modellezésével igazoltuk, hogy a teljes termelési időszak alatt biztosítani lehet az üzem hőigényét a melléktermékek felhasználásával. (3) Bioszorbenseket állítottunk elő lignocellulóz típusú agro-hulladékokból (kipréselt repce pellet, keményítőmentes búzamag) kémiai módosításokkal, amelyek így alkalmasak voltak szervetlen illetve szerves anyagok (szennyezők) megkötésére. | (1) A wide range of biomass materials have been studied by thermal analysis and related methods. New knowledge was obtained on the thermal decomposition, combustion processes and gasification by CO2. The work contributed to a deeper understanding of the reactions taking place during various biomass utilization methods. Such reaction kinetic models were employed and developed that reflected the complexity of the studied materials and described larger series of experiments at various experimental conditions. (2) In the field of bioethanol production the effect of Tween 80 and PEG 4000 additives on five substrates (steam pretreated sweet sorghum bagasse, hemp, hemp hurds and two model substrates) was investigated at various temperatures. It was proven that these additives could increase the efficiency of enzymatic digestibility of these substrates. By modeling the mass and energy balances of sweet sorghum based technologies it was verified that the heat demand of the process can be covered during the whole production period by utilizing the by-products. (3) Biosorbents were prepared from lignocellulosic agricultural wastes (pressed rape seed pellet, starch free wheat seed) by chemical modifications. The products were suitable to bond organic and inorganic pollutants

MAB2.0 project: Integrating algae production into wastewater treatment

Different species of microalgae are highly efficient in removing nutrients from wastewater streams and are able to grow using flue gas as a CO2 source. These features indicate that application of microalgae has a promising outlook in wastewater treatment. However, practical aspects and process of integration of algae cultivation into an existing wastewater treatment line have not been investigated. The Climate-KIC co-funded Microalgae Biorefinery 2.0 project developed and demonstrated this integration process through a case study. The purpose of this paper is to introduce this process by phases and protocols, as well as report on the challenges and bottlenecks identified in the case study. These standardized technical protocols detailed in the paper help to assess different aspects of integration including biological aspects such as strain selection, as well as economic and environmental impacts. This process is necessary to guide wastewater treatment plants through the integration of algae cultivation, as unfavourable parameters of the different wastewater related feedstock streams need specific attention and management. In order to obtain compelling designs, more emphasis needs to be put on the engineering aspects of integration. Well-designed integration can lead to operational cost saving and proper feedstock treatment enabling algae growth

Relevance of the light signaling machinery for cellulase expression in trichoderma reesei (hypocrea jecorina)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In nature, light is one of the most important environmental cues that fungi perceive and interpret. It is known not only to influence growth and conidiation, but also cellulase gene expression. We therefore studied the relevance of the main components of the light perception machinery of <it>Trichoderma reesei </it>(<it>Hypocrea jecorina</it>), ENV1, BLR1 and BLR2, for production of plant cell wall degrading enzymes in fermentations aimed at efficient biosynthesis of enzyme mixtures for biofuel production.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Our results indicate that despite cultivation in mostly dark conditions, all three components show an influence on cellulase expression. While we found the performance of the enzyme mixture secreted by a deletion mutant in <it>env1 </it>to be enhanced, the higher cellulolytic activity observed for <it>Δblr2 </it>is mainly due to an increased secretion capacity of this strain. <it>Δblr1 </it>showed enhanced biomass accumulation, but due to its obviously lower secretion capacity still was the least efficient strain in this study.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that with respect to regulation of plant cell wall degrading enzymes, the blue light regulator proteins are unlikely to act as a complex. Their regulatory influence on cellulase biosynthesis involves an alteration of protein secretion, which may be due to adjustment of transcription or posttranscriptional regulation of upstream factors. In contrast, the regulatory function of ENV1 seems to involve adjustment of enzyme proportions to environmental conditions.</p