Bioflocculation Activity in Harvesting System: A Biotechnology Approach for Microalgae Biomass

A study on Ankistrodesmus sp.—a freshwater green microalgae species—as a bioflocculant based on its physicochemical properties and flocculation rate has been carried out. The molecular identification via 16S rDNA showed 99% resemblance of this green microalga to the Ankistrodesmus fumigatus strain. The optimum batch culture condition for the bioflocculant production was initiated by 10% inoculum (v/v). The low-concentrated bioflocculant of 10% (v/v) is considered as thermostable with a high flocculation rate to harvest the biomass of Chlorella sp. at a pH range of 5 to 9. The source of molasses, the mixture of yeast extract were used as the optimum sources of carbon and Ammonium sulfate were used as the optimum sources of nitrogen in the growth medium. Ankistrodesmus sp. bioflocculant has a high flocculation efficiency over a wide range of pH (5–9) with a low dose requirement of 10% v/v at 25°C. Hence, it is immensely competitive to promote the economic viability of the production process. Accordingly, Ankistrodesmus sp. bioflocculant has a high potential to be applied on an industrial scale in tropical regions as it does not require additional production cost

Fungal Production of Xylanase from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches via Solid State Cultivation

The abundance of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB), the lignocellulosic biomass waste from Crude Palm Oil (CPO) industries, offers a potential for its application as raw material for biorefinery. Its xylan content in particular, suggests that EFB can be used as raw material for xylanase production. This article studies xylanase production by fungal Trichoderma viride ITB CC L67, Aspergillus niger ITB CC L51, and Penicillium sp. ITB CC L96 using EFB as the substrate in solid state fermentation. The aims of this research are to evaluate the incubation time to produce the highest xylanase activity, to explore the effect of particle size of EFB on xylanase activity and to determine the optimal operation condition of each significant variable, including temperature and substrate ratio (g EFB in mL liquid medium) using Response Surface Methodology (RSM).  The method of Central Composite Design (CCD) is employed to investigate the individual crucial component of the operation condition, which significantly affected the enzyme activity. The incubation time of  T. viride, A. niger, and Penicillium sp. were observed to produce xylanase .  The result show that the xylanase activity is increase in the early phase of incubation at 0-36 hours, and remained constant afterward. At the time of 36 hours, the activity of xylanase produced by T. viride, A. niger and Penicillium sp. were subsequently 815 U/mL, 624 U/mL and 789 U/mL or equal to 8,146 U/g, 6,243 U/g and 7,892 U/g dry substrate. The particle size of the EFB is affect the growth and hence affects on xylanase production. It shows that the smaller size of EFB resulted in better fungal growth, which was indicated by higher biomass dry weight and higher protein content, as well as higher xylanase activity. The optimum conditions obtained xylanase activity is 740.6 U/mL or 5,095.5 U/g substrate, produced by T.viride ITB CC L.67 at 32.8oC and substrate ratio of 0.63. 

PEMANFAATAN NIRA AREN MENJADI BIOETANOL UNTUK BAHAN BAKAR EMULSI YANG RAMAH LINGKUNGAN

ABSTRACTThis research purpose is to make gasohol fuel made from a mixture of ethanol and Pertamax as well as ethanol and pertalite. Ethanol used for this mixture has been through the process of reflux fermentation and distillation. Then the ethanol distillation process is carried out to obtain purity above 80%. The next stage is the process of mixing ethanol with Pertalite and Pertamax where the concentration of ethanol that will be mixed with Pertamax and Pertalite to become gasohol varies from 80% to 98% ethanol at 1% intervals. The Pertalite and Pertamax used for each sample was 7 ml while ethanol was added while shaking with a circular motion of the test tube until the solution became one phase. Using 80% ethanol in the mixture produces a Pertalite: pure ethanol: water ratio of 1: 11.65: 2.91 (in volume units), while 98% ethanol in the mixture produces a Pertalite: pure ethanol: water ratio of 1: 0.007 : 0.001 (in units of volume). For Pertamax, the minimum ethanol concentration mixed with Pertamax into a single-phase emulsion is 88% with a composition of 1: 5.91: 0.81. Keywords: ethanol, Pertalite, Pertamax. ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk membuat bahan bakar gasohol dengan beberapa campuran antara etanol dan Pertamax juga etanol dan Pertalite. Tahapan yang pertama yaitu pembuatan etanol dari nira aren yang sudah terfermentasi. Kemudian dilakukan proses destilasi etanol untuk mendapatkan kemurnian di atas 80%. Tahapan selanjutnya yaitu proses pencampuran etanol dengan Pertalite dan Pertamax dimana konsentrasi etanol yang akan dicampur dengan Pertamax dan Pertalite untuk menjadi gasohol divariasikan mulai dari etanol 80% sampai 98% dengan interval 1%. Pertalite dan Pertamax yang digunakan untuk setiap sampel adalah 7 ml sementara untuk etanol ditambahkan sambil diputar dalam tabung reaksi sampai larutan menjadi satu fasa. Dengan menggunakan etanol 80% dalam campuran menghasilkan perbandingan Pertalite : etanol murni : air adalah 1: 11,65: 2,91 (dalam satuan volume), sementara untuk etanol 98% dalam campuran menghasilkan perbandingan Pertalite : etanol murni : air adalah 1: 0.007: 0.001 (dalam satuan volume). Untuk Pertamax, konsentrasi etanol minimum yang dicampur dengan Pertamax menjadi emulsi satu fase adalah 88% dengan komposisi 1: 5.91: 0.81. Konsentrasi etanol maksimum yang dicampur dengan Pertamax menjadi emulsi satu fase adalah 97% dengan perbandingan  volume Pertamax : etanol murni : air adalah 1: 0,41: 0,02.Kata kunci : etanol, Pertalite, Pertamax

Catalytic thermal decarboxylation of palm kernel oil basic soap into drop-in fuel

Catalytic thermal decarboxylation of basic soaps derived from palm kernel oil to produce dropin fuel was investigated. The C12/14 and C12/16 methyl ester had been used as the model compounds of this study. The purpose of this study was to produce drop-in fuel, especially jets biofuel, by catalytic thermal decarboxylation of basic soaps from palm kernel oils. In this study, two types of Magnesium-Zinc metal combination were used for preparing the basic soaps, both directly have a role as a catalyst. The reaction was carried out at 370°C and atmospheric pressure for 3 hours in the semi-batch reactor. Approximately 41 and 43 weight% of the yield and selectivity of about 97 and 98% toward the jets biofuel had been obtained in both experiments, respectively. The results showed that decarboxylation of basic soaps of C12/14 and C12/16 methyl ester were converted into drop-in fuel, especially jets biofuel in the relatively good yield of conversion

Comparison of Liquid Product Characteristics of PFAD Metal Soap Decarboxylation by Batch and Continuous Process

Well-run continuous processes will benefit the industrial world in the future. This paper investigated the effect of batch and continuous processes on metal basic soap decarboxylation in terms of the liquid product characteristics. The metal soap used in the process was made from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) reacted with mixed metal oxides of Zn, Mg, and Ca. While the batch decarboxylation was carried out in a batch reactor at 400 °C for 5 hours, the continuous decarboxylation was conducted at 400 °C with a feed flow rate of 3.75 gr/minutes. Theoretically, the yield of batch decarboxylation is 76.6 wt% while the yield of continuous decarboxylation is 73.37 wt%. The liquid product was fractionated to separate short-chain hydrocarbon of C7-C10 (gasoline fractions) from medium- to long-chain hydrocarbons, or greater than C11 (green diesel fraction). The result showed that the alkane content from the batch process was higher than from the continuous process, whereas the continuous process produced more ketone products compared to the batch process. Furthermore, the GC-FID analysis showed a similar amount of total hydrocarbon (alkane, iso-alkane, and alkene) in both the batch and the continuous process

Solid State Fermentation Parameters Effect on Cellulase Production from Empty Fruit Bunch

In this study, agriculture waste palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was used as carbon/cellulose source in solid state fermentation for cheaper cellulase production. Fermentation operation parameters, such as: solid to liquid ratio, temperature, and pH, were varied to study the effect of those parameters towards crude cellulase activity. Two different fungi organisms, Trichoderma viride and Trichoderma reesei were used as the producers. Extracellular cellulase enzyme was extracted using simple contact method using citrate buffer. Assessment of the extracted cellulase activity by filter paper assay showed that Trichoderma viride is the superior organism capable of producing higher cellulase amount compared to Trichoderma reesei at the same fermentation condition. The optimum cellulase activity of 0.79 FPU/g dry substrate was obtained when solid to liquid ratio used for the fermentation was 1:1, while the optimum fermentation temperature and pH were found to be 30 °C and 5.5, respectively. The result obtained in this research showed the potential of EFB utilization for enzyme production. Copyright © 2018 BCREC Group. All rights reserved Received: 14th December 2017; Revised:29th July 2018; Accepted: 3rd August 2018 How to Cite: Wonoputri, V., Subiantoro, S., Kresnowati, M.T.A.P., Purwadi, R. (2018). Solid State Fermentation Parameters Effect on Cellulase Production from Empty Fruit Bunch. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 13 (3): 553-559 (doi:10.9767/bcrec.13.3.1964.553-559) Permalink/DOI: https://doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.13.3.1964.553-55

Pengolahan Awal Lignoselulosa Menggunakan Amoniak Untuk Meningkatkan Perolehan Gula Fermentasi

Salah satu kendala utama dalam pemanfaatan lignoselulosa sebagai bahan mentah bioetanol adalah tingginya biaya yang dibutuhkan dalam proses pengolahan awal (pretreatment) untuk mempersiapkan lignoselulosa tersebut agar mudah dihidrolisis oleh enzim menjadi monomer-monomer gulanya (gula fermentasi). Para peneliti berupaya mengembangkan teknologi pretreatment, diantaranya dengan menggunakan asam, basa, ataupun mikroorganisme. Tetapi sangat disayangkan teknologi yang banyak berkembang menggunakan kondisikondisi ekstrim (temperatur, tekanan dan konsentrasi pelarut yang tinggi), sehingga dibutuhkan peralatan yang mahal. Hal ini dinilai tidak cocok untuk dikembangkan di negara berkembang seperti Indonesia. Oleh karena itu, penelitian diarahkan kepada pemanfaatan teknologi yang dapat menurunkan biaya, dengan beberapa syarat antara lain bahan kimia dapat dijumput dan digunakan lagi, dan beroperasi pada kondisi ruang. Salah satu teknologi yang diharapkan dapat memenuhi persyaratan ini adalah teknologi perendaman menggunakan amoniak pada tekanan dan temperatur ruang (solution soaking with aqueous-ammonia, SAA). Teknologi ini masih baru, sehingga perlu diteliti dan dikembangkan, terutama pemanfaatannya pada berbagai macam sumber lignoselulosa yang ada di Indonesia. Bagaimanapun, hasil penelitian menunjukan peningkatan perolehan gula hasil hidrolisis enzim yang cukup signifikan, dan kedepannya diharapkan dapat menurunkan biaya pengolahan. Keywords: lignoselulosa, pretreatment, hidrolisis enzim, gula fermentasi, SAA

Bioethanol Production via Syngas Fermentation of Clostridium Ljungdahlii in a Hollow Fiber Membrane Supported Bioreactor

Ethanol production via syngas fermentation obtained from lignocellulose gasification provides a method to completely utilize all the carbon content from lignocellulosic feedstock. A low mass transfer rate of less soluble gas CO and H2 to liquid has been considered as the major bottleneck of the overall process; thus, microporous membrane was proposed as a gas diffuser to improve gas-to-liquid mass transfer. In this study, a liquid batch of syngas fermentation employing Clostridium ljungdahlii with continuous gas supply was carried out with the configuration of a bioreactor connected to the microporous hydrophobic polypropylene hollow fiber membrane (HFM) as a gas diffuser. Liquid recirculation between the fermentation vessel and membrane module was applied to enhance the gas-liquid contact as well as cell-recycle. Fermentation performance with and without HFM was compared and evaluated by cell growth, CO utilization, ethanol yield, and productivity. A higher ethanol yield, 0.22 mol/mol, was achieved by the system of HFM-supported bioreactor with higher ethanol titter of 1.09 g/L and ethanol to acetate molar ratio of 1.43 mol/mol. The obtained result indicates HMF-supported bioreactor is the best fermentation system compared to STR without the membrane

Continuous ethanol production from dilute-acid hydrolyzates : detoxification and fermentation strategy

The production of fuel ethanol from cellulosic biomass is of growing interest around the world. Lignocellulosic residuals can be used to produce transportation fuel, with the overall process having little net production of greenhouse gases. Lignocellulosic materials are available as a by-product of many industrial processes and agricultural materials, or can potentially be produced from dedicated energy crops. The production of ethanol from lignocellulosic materials includes hydrolysis which breaks the cellulose and hemicellulose polymers to fermentable sugars, followed by cultivation which converts the sugars into ethanol, and finally a separation process where ethanol purification is carried out to produce fuel ethanol. However, some byproducts such as furan compounds are released during chemical hydrolysis and inhibit the yeast during cultivation. This work contributes a solution to overcome these problems especially for a continuous process which is economically superior. Hydrolyzate detoxification using lime (â overlimingâ ) in concert with the capability of yeast to carry out in-situ detoxification is focused upon in the work. The kinetics of the overliming process were studied, where both sugars and furan compounds are degraded through a formation of complex ion. The sudden addition of lime in a batch process shows severe degradation of sugars together with furan compounds. This knowledge leads to development of a continuous detoxification process where gradual addition of lime can save 25% of the initial sugar with similar detoxification effects under certain conditions. Cell immobilization and cell flocculation have been studied to develop a high cell density system. High cell density is effective in carrying out in-situ detoxification. This study shows a good combination of continuous detoxification and cell immobilization where continuous ethanol production of 5.14 g/L·h can be carried out at a high feeding rate of 0.648 h-1. In addition, the application of a serial bioreactor has been found to increase the utilization of substrates. A gain in substrate assimilation of 11.6% has been achieved when using a serial bioreactor at residence time of 2.32 h. Furthermore, a cell flocculating system has been studied and developed. In a steady-state condition, the cell flocculation system could cultivate fresh hydrolyzates at a high feeding rate of 0.52 h-1 without any additional chemical detoxification, while sugar assimilation and ethanol productivity were 96% and 7.4 g/L·h respectively. In conclusion, this study proposes a concept of rapid continuous production of ethanol where inhibitory obstacles can be overcome by chemical detoxification and/or in-situ detoxification by yeast.I. Kinetic study of detoxification of dilute-acid hydrolyzates by Ca(OH)2Ronny Purwadi, Claes Niklasson, Mohammad J. Taherzadeh (2004), Journal ofBiotechnology, Vol. 114, page 187-198. Reprinted with permission fromElsevier.II. Performance of continuous detoxification of dilute-acid hydrolyzates byCa(OH)2Ronny Purwadi, Mohammad J. TaherzadehSubmitted for publication.III. The performance of serial bioreactor in rapid continuous production ofethanol from dilute-acid hydrolyzates using immobilized cellsRonny Purwadi, Mohammad J. TaherzadehSubmitted for publication.IV. A possible industrial solution to ferment lignocellulosic hydrolyzates toethanol: continuous cultivation with flocculating yeastRonny Purwadi, Mohammad J. TaherzadehSubmitted for publication.</p