Energy and environmental assessment of hydrogen from biomass sources: Challenges and perspectives

Hydrogen is considered as one of the pillars of the European decarbonisation strategy, boosting a novel concept of the energy system in line with the EU's commitment to achieve clean energy transition and reach the European Green Deal carbon neutrality goals by 2050. Hydrogen from biomass sources can significantly contribute to integrate the renewable hydrogen supply through electrolysis at large-scale production. Specifically, it can cover the non-continuous production of green hydrogen coming from solar and wind energy, to offer an alternative solution to such industrial sectors necessitating of stable supply. Biomass-derived hydrogen can be produced either from thermochemical pathways (i.e., pyrolysis, liquefaction, and gasification) or from biological routes (i.e., direct or indirect-biophotolysis, biological water–gas shift reaction, photo- and dark-fermentation). The paper reviews several production pathways to produce hydrogen from biomass or biomass-derived sources (biogas, liquid bio-intermediates, sugars) and provides an exhaustive review of the most promising technologies towards commercialisation. While some pathways are still at low technology readiness level, others such as the steam bio-methane reforming and biomass gasification are ready for an immediate market uptake. The various production pathways are evaluated in terms of energy and environmental performances, highlighting the limits and barriers of the available LCA studies. The paper shows that hydrogen production technologies from biomass appears today to be an interesting option, almost ready to constitute a complementing option to electrolysis

Are algae ready to take off? GHG emission savings of algae-to-kerosene production

Aviation alternative fuels are perceived as an effective short-term mean to decarbonise our flights. Sustainable aviation fuels from algae have been recently approved for commercial flights, and here we present an assessment of their greenhouse gas (GHG) savings. Three case studies have been investigated with different plant designs and cultivation strategies. The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation's Life Cycle Assessment methodology is used as a guideline to assess the GHG saving potential of aviation fuels from algae. The approach here presented allows having a sound comparison with other alternative fuel production pathways. We show that the cultivation strategy based on oil maximisation does not necessarily provide significant advantages in terms of GHG savings. The assessed GHG savings fall in a wide range, being dependent on the inputs and cultivation strategy considered. In the best-case scenario, up to 68% of GHG savings can be achieved, therefore offering a substantial advantage over traditional fuels. When compared with the GHG saving of kerosene from other traditional bio-based feedstocks, like rapeseed, the results confirm algae as an interesting alternative, provided that certain conditions for their cultivation, such as high process optimisation, nutrient recycling and use of renewable energy to meet input demand, are met. The study also assessed the area potentially needed for an algae production plant able to supply large volumes of raw material to an existing commercial biorefinery. The findings confirm the potential of this feedstock to mitigate land abandonment on the coasts of the Mediterranean basin

An automated microreactor for semi-continuous biosensor measurements.

Living bacteria or yeast cells are frequently used as bioreporters for the detection of specific chemical analytes or conditions of sample toxicity. In particular, bacteria or yeast equipped with synthetic gene circuitry that allows the production of a reliable non-cognate signal (e.g., fluorescent protein or bioluminescence) in response to a defined target make robust and flexible analytical platforms. We report here how bacterial cells expressing a fluorescence reporter ("bactosensors"), which are mostly used for batch sample analysis, can be deployed for automated semi-continuous target analysis in a single concise biochip. Escherichia coli-based bactosensor cells were continuously grown in a 13 or 50 nanoliter-volume reactor on a two-layered polydimethylsiloxane-on-glass microfluidic chip. Physiologically active cells were directed from the nl-reactor to a dedicated sample exposure area, where they were concentrated and reacted in 40 minutes with the target chemical by localized emission of the fluorescent reporter signal. We demonstrate the functioning of the bactosensor-chip by the automated detection of 50 μgarsenite-As l(-1) in water on consecutive days and after a one-week constant operation. Best induction of the bactosensors of 6-9-fold to 50 μg l(-1) was found at an apparent dilution rate of 0.12 h(-1) in the 50 nl microreactor. The bactosensor chip principle could be widely applicable to construct automated monitoring devices for a variety of targets in different environments

Development of a bacterial biosensor for arsenite detection

In order to provide an alternative measurement tool for arsenic contamination, we are developing a sensor that uses agarose beads containing a genetically engineered Escherichia coli strain producing a fluorescent signal in response to arsenite. Beads with cells are incorporated into a microfluidic system where they can be exposed to aqueous samples containing arsenic

Early Detection of Prostate Cancer: The Role of Scent

Prostate cancer (PCa) represents the cause of the second highest number of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and its clinical presentation can range from slow-growing to rapidly spreading metastatic disease. As the characteristics of most cases of PCa remains incompletely understood, it is crucial to identify new biomarkers that can aid in early detection. Despite the prostate-specific antigen serum (PSA) levels, prostate biopsy, and imaging representing the actual gold-standard for diagnosing PCa, analyzing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has emerged as a promising new frontier. We and other authors have reported that highly trained dogs can recognize specific VOCs associated with PCa with high accuracy. However, using dogs in clinical practice has several limitations. To exploit the potential of VOCs, an electronic nose (eNose) that mimics the dog olfactory system and can potentially be used in clinical practice was designed. To explore the eNose as an alternative to dogs in diagnosing PCa, we conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of available studies. PRISMA guidelines were used for the identification, screening, eligibility, and selection process. We included six studies that employed trained dogs and found that the pooled diagnostic sensitivity was 0.87 (95% CI 0.86–0.89; I2, 98.6%), the diagnostic specificity was 0.83 (95% CI 0.80–0.85; I2, 98.1%), and the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (sROC) was 0.64 (standard error, 0.25). We also analyzed five studies that used an eNose to diagnose PCa and found that the pooled diagnostic sensitivity was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.80–0.88; I2, 57.1%), the diagnostic specificity was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.84–0.91; I2, 66%), and the area under the sROC was 0.93 (standard error, 0.03). These pooled results suggest that while highly trained dogs have the potentiality to diagnose PCa, the ability is primarily related to olfactory physiology and training methodology. The adoption of advanced analytical techniques, such as eNose, poses a significant challenge in the field of clinical practice due to their growing effectiveness. Nevertheless, the presence of limitations and the requirement for meticulous study design continue to present challenges when employing eNoses for the diagnosis of PCa

Cell Viability Assessment By Flow Cytometry Using Yeast As Cell Model

This paper reports the new combination of cell sorting and counting capabilities on a single device. Most state-of-the-art devices combining these technologies use optical techniques requiring complicated experimental setups and labeled samples. The use of a label-free, electrical device significantly decreases the system complexity and makes it more appropriate for use in point-of-care diagnostics. Living and dead yeast cells are separated by dielectrophoretic forces and counted using coulter counters. The combination of these two methods allows the determination of the percentage of living and dead cells for viability studies of cell samples. The device could further be used for sorting and counting of blood cells in applications such as diagnosis of insufficient cell concentrations, identification of cell deficiencies or bacterial contamination. The use of dielectrophoresis (DEP) as sorting principle allows to separate cells based on their dielectric properties in the place of size-based separation, enabling sorting of large panels of cells and separation of infected and non-infected cells of the same type