Enhancing <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-Lysine Production of Beet Molasses by Engineered <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> Using an In Situ Pretreatment Method

Reducing the viscosity of molasses environmentally and selectively removing the harmful ingredients for microbes are the keys to promoting the bioavailability of molasses. A simple and environmental in situ pretreatment method integrating surfactants and alkali was developed to reduce the viscosity of molasses prior to l-lysine production using Escherichia coli ZY0217. Adding activated carbon and modified orange peel based on the in situ pretreatment process effectively removed pigments and excessive zinc in the molasses and also significantly increased the cell growth and l-lysine yield from E. coli ZY0217. The experimental results showed that a mixture of secondary alkane sulfonate, an anionic surfactant, and HodagCB-6, a non-ionic surfactant, effectively reduced the viscosity of the molasses more so than any single surfactant. When the surfactant mixture was added at a concentration of 0.04 g/L to the molasses, the ω value was 0.4, and when ammonia was added at 0.6 %, the lowest viscosity of 705 mPa?·?s was obtained. Further, 91.5 % of the color and 86.68 % of the original levels of zinc were removed using an activated carbon and modified orange peel treatment on the molasses with the lowest viscosity, which further promoted cell growth and l-lysine production. In the fed-batch cultivation process, the l-lysine concentration achieved using a constant-speed feeding strategy was 45.89 g/L, with an l-lysine yield of 27.18 %, whereas the l-lysine yield from untreated molasses was only 10.13 %. The increase in l-lysine yield was related to the reduced viscosity and the detoxification of the molasses. Lastly, the pretreatment was found to significantly enhance the conversion of sugars in the molasses to l-lysine.     

Internal energy content of n-butylbenzene, bromobenzene, iodobenzene and aniline molecular ions generated by two-photon ionization at 266 nm. A photodissociation study

A technique to investigate photodissociation kinetics on a nanosecond time scale has been devised for molecular ions generated by multiphoton ionization (MPI) using mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy spectrometry. The branching ratio or rate constant has been determined for the photodissociation of the n-butylbenzene, bromobenzene, iodobenzene, and aniline molecular ions generated by MPI at 266 nm. The ion internal energies have been estimated by comparing the measured kinetic data with the previous energy dependence data. The analysis has shown that only those molecular ions generated by two-photon ionization contribute to the photodissociation signals. Around half of the available energy has been found to remain as molecular ion internal energy in the two-photon ionization process. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pore network modelling: determination of the dynamic profiles of the pore diffusivity and its effect on column performance as the loading of the solute in the adsorbed phase varies with time

A three-dimensional pore network model for diffusion in porous adsorbent particles was employed in a dynamic adsorption model that simulates the adsorption of a solute in porous particles packed in a chromatographic column. The solution of the combined model yielded the dynamic profiles of the pore diffusion coefficient of beta-galactosidase along the radius of porous ion-exchange particles and along the length of the column as the loading of the adsorbate molecules on the surface of the pores occurred, and, the dynamic adsorptive capacity of the chromatographic column as a function of the design and operational parameters of the chromatographic system. The pore size distribution of the porous adsorbent particles and the chemistry of the adsorption sites were unchanged in the simulations. It was found that for a given column length the dynamic profiles of the pore diffusion coefficient were influenced by: (i) the superficial fluid velocity in the column, (ii) the diameter of the adsorbent particles and (iii) the pore connectivity of the porous structure of the adsorbent particles. The effect of the magnitude of the pore connectivity on the dynamic profiles of the pore diffusion coefficient increased as the diameter of the adsorbent particles and the superficial fluid velocity in the column increased. The dynamic adsorptive capacity of the column increased as: (a) the particle diameter and the superficial fluid velocity in the column decreased, and (b) the column length and the pore connectivity increased. In preparative chromatography, it is desirable to obtain high throughputs within acceptable pressure gradients, and this may require the employment of larger diameter adsorbent particles. In such a case, longer column lengths satisfying acceptable pressure gradients with adsorbent particles having higher pore connectivity values could provide high dynamic adsorptive capacities. An alternative chromatographic system could be comprised of a long column packed with large particles which have fractal pores (fractal particles) that have high pore connectivities and which allow high intraparticle diffusional and convective flow mass transfer rates providing high throughputs and high dynamic adsorptive capacities. If large scale monoliths could be made to be reproducible and operationally stable, they could also offer an alternative mode of operation that could provide high throughputs and high dynamic adsorptive capacities.     

Modeling and simulation of the dynamic behavior of monoliths. Effects of pore structure from pore network model analysis and comparison with columns packed with porous spherical particles

A mathematical model is presented that could be used to describe the dynamic behavior, scale-up, and design of monoliths involving the adsorption of a solute of interest. The value of the pore diffusivity of the solute in the pores of the skeletons of the monolith is determined in an a priori manner by employing the pore network modeling theory of Meyers and Liapis [J. Chromatogr. A, 827 (1998) 197 and 852 (1999) 3]. The results clearly show that the pore diffusion coefficient, Dmp, of the solute depends on both the pore size distribution and the pore connectivity, nT, of the pores in the skeletons. It is shown that, for a given type of monolith, the film mass transfer coefficient, Kf, of the solute in the monolith could be determined from experiments based on Eq. (3) which was derived by Liapis [Math. Modelling Sci. Comput., 1 (1993) 397] from the fundamental physics. The mathematical model presented in this work is numerically solved in order to study the dynamic behavior of the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a monolith having skeletons of radius r(o) = 0.75x10(-6) m and through-pores having diameters of 1.5x10(-6)-1.8x10(-6) m [H. Minakuchi et al., J. Chromatogr. A, 762 (1997) 135]. The breakthrough curves of the BSA obtained from the monolith were steeper than those from columns packed with porous spherical particles whose radii ranged from 2.50x10(-6) m to 15.00x10(-6) m. Furthermore, and most importantly, the dynamic adsorptive capacity of the monolith was always greater than that of the packed beds for all values of the superficial fluid velocity, Vtp. The results of this work indicate that since in monoliths the size of through-pores could be controlled independently from the size of the skeletons, then if one could construct monolith structures having (a) relatively large through-pores with high through-pore connectivity that can provide high flow-rates at low pressure drops and (b) small-sized skeletons with mesopores having an appropriate pore size distribution (mesopores having diameters that are relatively large when compared with the diameter of the diffusing solute) and high pore connectivity, nT, the following positive results, which are necessary for obtaining efficient separations, could be realized: (i) the value of the pore diffusion coefficient, Dmp, of the solute would be large, (ii) the diffusion path length in the skeletons would be short, (iii) the diffusion velocity, vD, would be high, and (iv) the diffusional response time, t(drt), would be small. Monoliths with such pore structures could provide more efficient separations with respect to (a) dynamic adsorptive capacity and (b) required pressure drop for a given flow-rate, than columns packed with porous particles.     

C_(30)-C_(32) LANOSTANES——A NOVEL SERIES OF TETRACYCLIC TRITERPENOID HYDROCARBONS IDENTIFIED IN CHINESE TERTIARY LACUSTRINE SEDIMENTS

A series of novel tetracyclic triterpanes based on the lanostane skeleton, ranging in cars-bon number from C_(30) to C_(32), were identified for the first time in Eocene lacustrine depo-its of Biyang Depression, China. These compounds have been identified by GC, GC- MS, andcoinjection with authentic standard, as 8β(H), 9α(H)- lanostane (C_(30)), 24-methyl- lanostane(C_(31)) and 24- ethyl- lanostane (C_(32)). Mechanisms are proposed for the origin and geologicalfate of these compounds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first confirmed occur-rence of lanostanes in the sedimentary record.     

Supercurrent-induced temperature gradient across a nonequilibrium SNS Josephson junction

Using tunneling spectroscopy, we have measured the local electron energy distribution function in the normal part of a superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SNS) Josephson junction containing an extra lead to a normal reservoir. In the presence of simultaneous supercurrent and injected quasiparticle current, the distribution function exhibits a sharp feature at very low energy. The feature is odd in energy and odd under reversal of either the supercurrent or the quasiparticle current direction. The feature represents an effective temperature gradient across the SNS Josephson junction that is controllable by the supercurrent.