Water and energy saving bioprocess for bioethanol production from corn grain applying stillage liquid part recirculation

The distillery stillage is a major and arduous byproduct generated during ethanol production in distilleries. The liquid part of this stillage was proved that can be recycled in the ethanol production from corn, without disturbing the fermentation process. The corn seeds were fermented employing the conventional non-pressure method for gelatinizing as well as including a novelty: Recirculation system of distillery stillage liquid part instead of process water. The efficiency of fermentation and main chemical parameters of stillage were estimated. The liquid part of stillage was recycled 28 times. At these conditions distillery yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae efficiently produced ethanol yielding 79.80% of the theoretical, keeping the vitality and quantity on the same level. However, recirculation of the liquid part of stillage caused protein and potassium increase in the wet cake what makes this product more attractive for fodder supplementation. It was proven that the addition of stillage liquid fraction to the mashing process instead of process water and 28 recirculation cycles in ethanol production from corn constitutes the way which could significantly reduce the water and energy consumption, what essentially reduce whole general production costs without ethanol efficiency decreasing.Keywords: Corn, stillage liquid part, recirculation, ethanol yieldAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(40), pp. 5950-595

The effect of smoking on changes in functional attributes of Mozzarella cheese

Smoking of cheeses significantly modifies not only sensory attributes, but also determines the form of their further utilisation, packaging method and shelf life. The aim of thIS study was to evaluate functional characteristics of smoked and unsmoked Mozzarella cheeses subjected to 4-week storage. It was found that smoked cheese contained 7% less water than unsmoked cheese. Meltability of smoked cheese before storage was 2 times smaller than that of unsmoked cheese, but after 4 weeks, meltability was 21% greater. Smoked cheese not subjected to storage was 2.2 times harder than unsmoked cheese. During storage, hardness of smoked cheese decreased 4.6-fold, while that of unsmoked cheese only 1.1-fold. Storage time had an increase in stretchability of unsmoked and smoked cheeses by 4.2 and 14.9%, respectively.Keywords: Mozzarella, meltability, textur

Use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zymomonas mobilis for bioethanol production from sugar beet pulp and raw juice

Biofuels have received great attention as an alternative energy source mainly due to limited oil reserves. Bioethanol can be produced from wide range of raw materials like starch, sucrose and cellulosic based sources. Sugar beet and raw juice, as its intermediate product, constitute very profitable substrates for bioethanol production, considering content of easy available fermentable sugars. In this study, sugar beet pulp and raw juice were fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae distillery yeasts and bacterium Zymomonas mobilis. Different medium dilution rate as well as yeasts preparations (Fermiol, Safdistil C-70) were investigated. Fermentation was run for 72 h at 30°C. Quality of obtained raw distillates was evaluated using GC method. S. cerevisiae distillery yeasts turned out to be more favourable microorganism than bacterium Z. mobilis for sucrose material fermentation. The ethanol yield obtained from sugar beet pulp and raw juice was 84 and 95% of theoretical yield, respectively. Fermentation of sugar beet raw juice obtained by pressing without enzymatic treatment yielded higher ethanol efficiency as compared to raw juice pressed with enzyme. Dilution ratio 1:1 for fermentation medium appeared to be profitable for effective fermentation process.Keywords: Sugar beet roots, raw juice, fermentation, bioethanol, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zymomonas mobilisAfrican Journal of BiotechnologyVol. 12(18), pp. 2464-247

Analiza metaboličke aktivnosti bakterija mliječne kiseline i kvasaca u modelnim uzorcima kefira pripravljenim od kozjeg mlijeka i mješavina kozjeg i kobiljeg mlijeka na temelju promjena električne vodljivosti i otpora

The aim of this study was to analyse the metabolic activity of lactic acid bacteria and yeast based of changes in electrical conductivity and electrical impedance during fermentation of goat milk and mixtures of goat’s milk and mare’s milk (1:1, 1:2). As a result of fermentation, conductivity increased 1.4-fold. The conductivity of kefir prepared from goat and mare milk mixed at a ratio of 1:2 (6.210 Ω-3∙cm-1) was lower than that of the 1:1 mixture or of goat milk alone (7.242 Ω-3∙cm-1). A significant dependence of electrical conductivity and pH (0.970 ≤ r ≤ 0.993) was recorded during fermentation. The addition of mare milk to goat milk significantly slowed down the growth of LAB (Δλ = 0.8 h) and yeasts during kefir production.Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati metaboličku aktivnost bakterija mliječne kiseline i kvasaca na temelju promjena u električnoj vodljivosti i otporu izmjerenim tijekom fermentacije kozjeg mlijeka i mješavina kozjeg i kobiljeg mlijeka (1:1, 1:2). Uslijed fermentacije električna vodljivost povećala se 1,4 puta. Vodljivost kefira napravljenog od mješavine kozjeg i kobiljeg mlijeka u omjeru 1:2 (6,210 Ω-3∙cm-1) bila je manja u usporedbi s električnom vodljivosti kefira pripravljenog samo od kozjeg mlijeka (7,242 Ω-3∙cm-1), odnosno od mješavine kozjeg i kobiljeg mlijeka u omjeru 1:1. Tijekom fermentacije utvrđena je statistički značajna ovisnost između električne vodljivosti i pH vrijednosti (0,970 ≤ r ≤ 0,993). Dodavanje kobiljeg mlijeka kozjem mlijeku značajno usporava rast bakterija mliječne kiseline (Δλ = 0,8 h) i kvasaca tijekom proizvodnje kefira

Complexity and dynamics of the winemaking bacterial communities in berries, musts, and wines from apulian grape cultivars through time and space

Currently, there is very little information available regarding the microbiome associated with the wine production chain. Here, we used an amplicon sequencing approach based on high-throughput sequencing (HTS) to obtain a comprehensive assessment of the bacterial community associated with the production of three Apulian red wines, from grape to final product. The relationships among grape variety, the microbial community, and fermentation was investigated. Moreover, the winery microbiota was evaluated compared to the autochthonous species in vineyards that persist until the end of the winemaking process. The analysis highlighted the remarkable dynamics within the microbial communities during fermentation. A common microbial core shared among the examined wine varieties was observed, and the unique taxonomic signature of each wine appellation was revealed. New species belonging to the genus Halomonas were also reported. This study demonstrates the potential of this metagenomic approach, supported by optimized protocols, for identifying the biodiversity of the wine supply chain. The developed experimental pipeline offers new prospects for other research fields in which a comprehensive view of microbial community complexity and dynamics is desirable.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The Paper Deals with the Problem of Religious Meditation

The attitude of the Catholic Church towards this matter has been briefly mentioned in the introduction. The main body of the article presents an attempt of philosophical (realistic) characteristic of the nature of religious meditation. Ontological pluralism and creationism have been found as one of the main metaphisical features of the world. However our main attention has been drawn to the antropological implications of the act of meditation. In the article some works concerning religious meditation written by St. Thomae Aquinatis have been recolled. Not only for reasons however but mainly because of timless, realistic solution given there. Meditation is shown as sensual-intellectual cognitive act when the thruth concerning God and the human being is considered. This truth, of natural and revelled kind, due to sensibilities are expressed in the impressions which have an impact to the intellect for further considerations. Cognitive operations are followed by an appetite constituted in acts of senses and mainly in acts of will. The paper has also shown some further consequences of the obtained results. It has been pointed out that an act of religious meditation cannot be seen as one of difficult to explain structure, relies on drowning in unconceptualized atmosphere of God's presence. On the contrary, religious meditation appears to be a highly rational act, having objective foundations, understable (to some extend) for a human being