Production of ethanol from pulp mill hardwood and softwood spent sulfite liquors by genetically engineeredE. coli

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Although lignocellulosic biomass and wastes are targeted as an attractive alternative fermentation feedstock for the production of fuel ethanol, cellulosic...     

Ethanol production from cellulose by two lignocellulolytic soil fungi

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The present work examines the production of ethanol via direct fermentation of pure celluloses and lignocellulosic wastes by two soil fungi isolated under...     

Thermal properties of lignocellulosic filler-thermoplastic polymer bio-composites

Summary In the TG analysis of the bio-composites, their thermal stability was found to slightly decrease and the ash content to increase as the lignocellulosic filler loading increased. This is a logical consequence of the lower thermal stability of the lignocellulosic filler compared to that of the matrix polymer. The dispersion and interfacial adhesion between the lignocellulosic filler and thermoplastic polymer were important factors affecting the thermal stability of the composite system. In order to improve their compatibility and interfacial adhesion, the incorporation of a compatibilizing agent into the lignocellulosic material-thermoplastic polymer composites is recommended. In the TMA analysis, the thermal expansion of the composites was found to decrease with increasing filler loading and incorporating compatibilizing agent. Lignocellulosic filler is a suitable material for preventing the thermal expansion of the composite materials caused by atmospheric changes.     

Electrochemical hydrogen production from biomass

Thermodynamic data indicate that the oxidation of oxygenated organic species originating from biomass instead of water at the anode of an electrolysis cell should allow decreasing the cell voltage below 1.23 V. Biosourced alcohols, polyols, sugars, lignocellulosic compounds, and their derivatives are then electroreformed to produce clean hydrogen at the cathode and compounds at the anode of electrolysis cells. The reported studies highlight the main challenges to make electroreforming a future industrial process: higher reaction kinetics and hydrogen evolution rate; better selectivity of anode catalysts toward the formation of CO₂ or added-value compounds; and utilization of nonstrategical metals. An attractive solution to decrease hydrogen production costs and to make bankable other economic activities consists in directly valuing wastes from agriculture/forestry (lignocellulosic raw materials) and/or wastes from biofuel industries.     

Green approaches in the valorization of plant wastes: Recent insights and future directions

Modern biorefinery technologies use a wide range of plant fibers/wastes and bioconversion techniques to produce a variety of biofuels and other goods. Plant waste, or lignocellulose, is one of the world's most easily accessible, sustainable, and biodegradable bioresources and has been identified as a valuable alternative raw material for the production of a variety of biofuels and chemicals. Furthermore, the generation of platform chemicals and biofuels from plant wastes benefits the environment and the economy. We will cover current advances in biotechnologies for valorizing plant lignocellulosic wastes to produce a wide range of high-value products such as biofuels, biocatalysts, biologically active chemicals, and so on in this brief communication. Furthermore, significant emphasis has been made on the green conversion of lignin into useful compounds, produced in large quantities as a by-product of paper and pulp or other industrial processes.     

Application of modified wastes from phenol-formaldehyde resin and expanded polystyrene in sewage treatment processes

A solution to environmental pollution by polymer plastic wastes can be their chemical modification in to useful products. Such a new solution is the obtaining of effective flocculants for sewage treatment from chemically modified phenol-formaldehyde resin production wastes (SE and NS novolak) and expanded polystyrene wastes. Comparative analysis of flocculation properties was performed for amino derivatives of novolak wastes, synthesized sulphonated derivatives of novolak and expanded polystyrene wastes, of standard polyacryloamide and for Praestol commercial polyelectrolyte. Amino derivatives and sulphonated derivatives of polymer plastic wastes, having properties of anionic type polyelectrolytes, exhibit good flocculation properties in purification processes of sewages with a chemical composition close to that of found in the water circulating system power plant, coal-mine, and steel plant. Application of synthesised flocculants caused a decrease of turbidity, concentration of solved impurities and improved quality parameter of purified water. It was found that synthesised polyelectrolytes could be used in industrial water treatment processes.     

Evaluation of Lignocellulosic Wastes for Production of Edible Mushrooms

The degradation of lignocellulosic wastes such as paddy straw, sorghum stalk, and banana pseudostem was investigated during solid-state fermentation by edible mushrooms Pleurotus eous and Lentinus connotus. Biological efficiency of 55-65% was observed in paddy straw followed by sorghum stalk (45%) and banana pseudostem (33%) for both fungal species. The activity of extracellular enzymes, namely cellulase, polyphenol oxidase, and laccase, together with the content of cellulose, lignin, and phenols, was studied in spent substrates on seventh, 17th, and 27th days of spawning, and these values were used as indicators of the extent of lignocellulosic degradation by mushroom. Both the mushroom species proved to be efficient degraders of lignocellulosic biomass of paddy straw and sorghum stalk, and the extent of cellulose degradation was 63-72% of dry weight (d.w.), and lignin degradation was 23-30% of the d.w. In banana pseudostem, the extent of the degradation was observed to be only 15-22% of the d.w. for both lignin and cellulose. Preferential removal of cellulose during initial growth period and delayed degradation of lignin were observed in all three substrates. This is associated with decrease in activity of cellulase and polyphenol oxidase and increase in laccase activity with spawn aging in spent substrates. Thus, bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass by P. eous and L. connotus offers a promising way to convert low-quality biomass into an improved human food.     

Conversion of industrial food wastes by Alcaligenes latus into polyhydroxyalkanoates

Broader usage of biodegradable plastics in packaging and disposable products as a solution to environmental problems would heavily depend on further reduction of costs and the discovery of novel biodegradable plastics with improved properties. As the first step in our pursuit of eventual usage of industrial food wastewater as nutrients for microorganisms to synthesise environmental-friendly bioplastics, we investigated the usage of soya wastes from a soya milk dairy, and malt wastes from a beer brewery plant as the carbon sources for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) by selected strain of microorganism. Bench experiments showed that Alcaligenes latus DSM 1124 used the nutrients from malt and soya wastes to biosynthesise PHAs. The final dried cell mass and specific polymer production of A. latus DSM 1124 were 32g/L and 70% polymer/cells (g/g), 18.42 g/L and 32.57% polymer/cell (g/g), and 28 g/L and 36% polymer/cells (g/g), from malt waste, soya waste, and from sucrose, responctively. These results suggest that many types of food wastes might be used as the carbon source for the production of PHA.     

Production of ligninolytic enzymes for dye decolorization by cocultivation of white-rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus and Phanerochaete chrysosporium under solid-state fermentation

Lignocellulosic wastes such as neem hull, wheat bran, and sugarcane bagasse, available in abundance, are excellent substrates for the production of ligninolytic enzymes under solid-state fermentation by white-rot fungi. A ligninolytic enzyme system with high activity showing enhanced decomposition was obtained by cocultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus and Phanerochaete chrysosporium on combinations of lignocellulosic waste. Among the various substrate combinations examined, neem hull and wheat bran wastes gave the highest ligninolytic activity. A maximum production of laccase of 772 U/g and manganese peroxidase of 982 U/g was obtained on d 20 and lignin peroxidase of 656 U/g on d 25 at 28±1 °C under solid-state fermentation. All three enzymes thus obtained were partially purified by acetone fractionation and were exploited for decolorizing different types of acid and reactive dyes.     

Equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies of Basic Blue 9 dye sorption on agro-industrial lignocellulosic materials

The sorptive potential of some lignocellulosic agro-industrial wastes (sunflower seed shells and corn cob) for Basic Blue 9 cationic dye removal from aqueous solutions was examined using the batch technique. The Freundlich, Langmuir, and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models were used in order to determine the quantitative parameters of sorption. The Langmuir isotherm model indicated a maximum sorption capacity for these materials in the range of 40–50 mg dye per g (25°C), slightly higher for corn cob than for sunflower seed shells. The values of the thermodynamic parameters showed that the retention of cationic dye is a spontaneous and endothermic process. The application of pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order intraparticle diffusion models, and a Boyd — Reichenberg model for kinetic data interpretation suggested that sorption of Basic Blue 9 dye onto the studied materials is a process where both surface sorption and intraparticle diffusion contributed to the rate-limiting step. These lignocellulosic wastes can be used with good efficiency for dye removal from aqueous effluents.      

木质纤维类生活垃圾热解过程矿物质和碳结构的演化规律

使用水平管式炉,在不同热解温度(500~1 000 ℃)条件下对废纸屑和樟树叶两种木质纤维类生活垃圾进行了热解实验,分别采用X射线衍射(XRD)和拉曼光谱研究了样品所含矿物质和碳结构随热解温度的变化。结果表明,废纸屑和樟树叶含有的主要矿物分别为方解石和草酸钙,在500 ℃之前草酸钙全部转化为方解石,焦样中的方解石在800 ℃以后逐渐分解并形成生石灰。拉曼光谱对生活垃圾焦的碳结构变化非常敏感,低温热解时生活垃圾的大分子结构发生缩合和解聚,产生了孤立sp²碳原子,导致峰参数D1峰半高宽和峰面积比值I_D1/I_G逐渐增大;高温热解时晶体sp²碳原子增多,导致D1峰半高宽和I_D1/I_G逐渐减小。焦样的碳结构有序度随热解温度升高先降低后提高。     

The Optimization of Dilute Acid Hydrolysis of Cotton Stalk in Xylose Production

Cotton stalk, a lignocellulosic waste material, is composed of xylose that can be used as a raw material for production of xylitol, a high-value product. There is a growing interest in the use of lignocellulosic wastes for conversion into various chemicals because of their low cost and the fact that they are renewable and abundant. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of H₂SO₄ concentration, temperature, and reaction time on the production of sugars (xylose, glucose, and arabinose) and on the reaction by-products (furfural and acetic acid). Response surface methodology was used to optimize the hydrolysis process in order to obtain high xylose yield and selectivity. The optimum reaction temperature, reaction time, and acid concentration were 140 °C, 15 min, and 6%, respectively. Under these conditions, xylose yield and selectivity were found to be 47.88% and 2.26 g g⁻¹, respectively.     

Microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoates by bacteria isolated from oil wastes

A Gram-positive coccus-shaped bacterium capable of synthesizing higher relative molecular weight (M _r), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) was isolated from sesame oil and identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis (by Microbial ID, Inc., Newark, NJ). The experiment was conducted by shake flask fermentation culture using media containing fructose. Cell growth up to a dry mass of 2.5 g/L and PHB accumulation up to 15.02% of cell dry wt was observed. Apart from using single carbohydrate as a sole carbon source, various industrial food wastes including sesame oil, ice cream, malt, and soya wastes were investigated as nutrients for S. epidermidis to reduce the cost of the carbon source. As a result, we found that by using malt wastes as nutrient for cell growth, PHB accumulation of S. epidermidis was much better than using other wastes as nutrient source. The final dried cell mass and PHB production using malt wastes were 1.76 g/L and 6.93% polymer/cells (grams/gram), and 3.5 g/L and 3.31% polymer/cells (grams/gram) in shake flask culture and in fermentor culture, respectively. The bacterial polymer was characterized by ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C-NMR, Fourier transform infrared, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results show that with different industrial food wastes as carbon and energy sources, the same biopolymer (PHB) was obtained. However, the use of sesame oil as the carbon source resulted in the accumulation of PHB with a higher melting point than that produced from other food wastes as carbon sources by this organism under similar experimental conditions.     

Heuristic analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptus globulus</Emphasis> bark depolymerization via acid-liquefaction

A clear, direct and rapid analysis of the preliminary results concerning the acid liquefaction of Eucalyptus globulus’ bark is herein presented. The results led to a methodology for the selective liquefaction of hemicellulose and amorphous cellulose. Liquefaction was conducted at various temperatures, as well as different reaction times. The process results are heuristically explained in view of the experiments of ATR-FTIR, hydroxyl number, and acid value. The procedure method allows reusing the wastes arising from the paper industry. Valuable products and chemical building blocks from lignocellulosic biomass, mostly based on cellulose can be thus accessed.     

Thermal and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis of lignocellulosic material-filled polyethylene bio-composites

Thermal and rheological properties of plant-based natural filler-reinforced polyethylene bio-composites applying various filler loadings as well as the impacts of the different compatibilizers were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). As lignocellulosic materials, such as rice-husk flour and wood flour, are eco-friendly biomaterials and a thermoplastic polymer, for example, high-density polyethylene, has good physico-mechanical and thermal properties, therefore their bio-composites can combine and utilize these two advantages at the same time. The temperature of the α-relaxation (T _α) slightly increased and melting temperatures (T _m) of the matrix polymer in the case of the studied bio-composites did not shift significantly as the filler loading changed, because the rigid interphase hinders the motion of polymer segments resulting in the increase in T _α and only weak interactions developed at the interface between the matrix polymer and the reinforcement in the case of non-compatibilized composites. However, compatibility between the reinforcement and the matrix polymer was enhanced by incorporating compatibilizers, which further improved stiffness. From the DMTA experiment, the reinforcements result in composite samples having higher storage modulus (E′) than the neat polymer sample, indicating that incorporating lignocellulosic filler increased their stiffness.     

The performance of degradable polymer bags

The use of degradable polymers for the collection and composting of organic wastes is explored within this paper. With reference to one trial where the performance of a ‘degradable’ polyethylene based sack for the kerbside collection of organic wastes was investigated. Areas for consideration were the impacts of the degradable polymer on the composting process and the quality of the finished product. This trial also included a comparative study of two different types of ‘degradable’ polymer sacks currently on the European market (polyethylene and starch). A number of quantitative tests were conducted on the different polymers to assess the mechanisms of degradation and how this affected their suitability for the treatment of organic wastes. Provisional results have indicated that the polyethylene (PE) sacks are not degrading as anticipated within open windrow conditions, adversely affecting both the composting process and the quality of the finished compost product. Whilst the degradable starch based sacks appear to actively degrade within open windrow compost conditions.     

Modification of Recycled Polymer Blends with Activated Natural Zeolite

The growing interest in the natural zeolite is based on some specific peculiarities of its structure, which after dehydration enables adsorption processes of some polymer molecules and/or segments to take place on the zeolite surface. The main goal of the study is to investigate the effect of dehydrated zeolite on the flow behavior, mechanical properties and morphology of immiscible blends from unsorted polymer wastes. A tetra-component blend consisting of 40 wt.% polypropylene (PP), 40 wt.% high-density polyethylene (HDPE), 15 wt.% low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and 5 wt.% polystyrene (PS), was studied as a model system of commingled plastic wastes. Compositions from recycled blend and dehydrated zeolite in a wide concentration range (from 0 to 20 wt.%) were prepared using a twin-screw extruder Brabender DSE 35/17D in the temperature range from 140 to 190 °C. The compositions were characterized by capillary rheometry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), site-resolved wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and mechanical tests. The results show a compatibilizing effect of dehydrated zeolite at low concentration levels (1-2 wt.%) and open wide possibilities for utilization of dehydrated zeolite in the recycling of unsorted polymer wastes.     

Properties of ultrahighly filled composites based on polymers and ground rubber

The stress-strain and strength properties of ultrahighly filled composites based on thermoplastic polymers and ground rubber wastes are studied. The content of the elastic filler is higher than 70 wt%. As is shown, introduction of minor amounts of the plastic polymer, which serves as the binder for the filler particles, makes it possible to improve the strength properties of ultrahighly filled composites and to prepare materials of a desired thickness. A correlation between the stress-strain properties of the plastic polymer-rubber systems and the effective viscosity of the matrix polymer is established. When a polymer with homogeneous deformation and good adhesion to the elastic filler is used as the matrix, the resultant composites are characterized by properties close to those of vulcanized rubbers. A new method is proposed for processing of ground rubber wastes and preparation of materials that are similar to hard rubbers.     

Ecofriendly Biocomposites from Natural fibers: Mechanical and Weathering study

Increasing environmental concerns and depletion of petroleum resources has forced researchers around the globe to find new green materials. In the present research work, a particular interest was focused on the effective use of lignocellulosic natural fibers as reinforcement using polymer resin as a novel matrix. Green composites were prepared using the compression molding technique with different fiber contents. The physicomechanical and thermal characteristics of the different composite samples were investigated as a function of fiber contents. The results obtained suggest that the properties of the polymer matrix are positively affected by the incorporation of natural cellulosic fibers.     

An Overview of the Antimicrobial Properties of Lignocellulosic Materials

Pathogenic microbes are a major source of health and environmental problems, mostly due to their easy proliferation on most surfaces. Currently, new classes of antimicrobial agents are under development to prevent microbial adhesion and biofilm formation. However, they are mostly from synthetic origin and present several disadvantages. The use of natural biopolymers such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, derived from lignocellulosic materials as antimicrobial agents has a promising potential. Lignocellulosic materials are one of the most abundant natural materials from renewable sources, and they present attractive characteristics, such as low density and biodegradability, are low-cost, high availability, and environmentally friendly. This review aims to provide new insights into the current usage and potential of lignocellulosic materials (biopolymer and fibers) as antimicrobial materials, highlighting their future application as a novel drug-free antimicrobial polymer.