Publications by authors named "A Gianico"
The biochemical valorization potential of food waste (FW) could be exploited by extracting decreasing added-value bio-based products and converting the final residues into energy. In this context, multi-purpose and versatile schemes integrating thermal and biochemical conversion processes will play a key role. An upstream thermal pretreatment + solid-liquid separation unit was here proposed to optimize the conversion of the liquid fraction of FW into valuable chemicals through semi-continuous fermentation process, and the conversion of the residual solid fraction into biomethane through anaerobic digestion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study explored the potential of Food Waste (FW) extract as a suitable substrate for Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFAs) production, in a single-phase reactor, where both fermentation and Chain Elongation (CE) processes occurred simultaneously. A continuous experiment was conducted with an Organic Loading Rate (OLR) = 20 gCOD L d and was fed in batch mode twice a week with pH = 6. In addition, four batch tests were performed, to assess the effects on the MCFAs production of caproate inhibition, hydrogen partial pressure (P) and different lactate/acetate ratios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcology of food waste chain-elongating microbiome.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol
April 2023
Microbial chain elongation has emerged as a valuable bioprocess for obtaining marketable products, such as medium chain fatty acids usable in several industrial applications, from organic waste. The understanding of the microbiology and microbial ecology in these systems is crucial to apply these microbiomes in reliable production processes controlling microbial pathways to promote favourable metabolic processes, which will in turn increase product specificity and yields. In this research, the dynamics, cooperation/competition and potentialities of bacterial communities involved in the long-term lactate-based chain elongation process from food waste extract were evaluated under different operating conditions by DNA/RNA amplicon sequencing and functional profile prediction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiorefining food waste through the anaerobic conversion of endogenous lactate into caproate: A fragile balance between microbial substrate utilization and product inhibition.
Waste Manag
August 2022
Article Synopsis
- The European Green Deal aims to promote sustainable practices, with new technologies and renewable resources being critical for advancing a bio-based economy, including converting food waste into valuable products like carboxylic acids through fermentation.
- This study focuses on producing caproate from organic-rich food waste extract using an in situ electron donor, achieving significant yields of volatile fatty acids and a maximum caproate concentration of 8 g/L under optimal conditions.
- However, increasing the organic loading rate (OLR) to 20 gCOD Ld inhibited the chain elongation process due to high caproate concentrations, but the system recovered its functionality after a brief pause in feeding, indicating a resilient microbiome's ability
Article Synopsis
- Anaerobic digestion is an established method for stabilizing sewage sludge and producing biogas, but there's limited knowledge about the microbial changes during the initial start-up phase of digesters.
- This study examined the bacterial and archaeal populations in a full-scale mesophilic digester from start-up to steady-state using high-throughput DNA sequencing, revealing a predominance of fermentative bacteria and specific methanogens that adapted over time.
- The research highlighted which microbial communities are most affected by changes from aerobic to anaerobic conditions and assessed the core microbial populations influenced by the wastewater treatment plant's operational parameters.