Effect of frequency and reaction time in focused ultrasonic pretreatment of energy cane bagasse for bioethanol production.

Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass is a critical steps in bioethanol production. Ultrasonic pretreatment significantly improves cellulose hydrolysis increasing sugar yields, but current system designs have limitations related to efficiency and scalability. This study evaluates the ultrasonic pretreatment of energy cane bagasse in a novel scalable configuration and by maximizing coupling of ultrasound energy to the material via active modulation of frequency.

In vitro characterization of polyesters of aconitic acid, glycerol, and cinnamic acid for bone tissue engineering.

In this study, a novel class of polyesters of glycerol, aconitic acid, and cinnamic acid were synthesized along with their hydroxyapatite (HA) composites, and studied for their potential application in bone defect repair. An osteogenic study was conducted with human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs) to determine the osteoinductive ability of aconitic acid-glycerol (AG) polyesters, AG:HA (80:20), aconitic acid-glycerol-cinnamic acid (AGC) polyesters, and AGC:HA (80:20) to serve as bone scaffolds. The results indicate that AGC scaffolds have the highest mechanical strength in comparison to AG, AG:HA (80:20), and AGC:HA (80:20) scaffolds due to its low porosity.

Enzymatic hydrolysis and ethanol yields of combined surfactant and dilute ammonia treated sugarcane bagasse.

Tween 80, Tween 20, PEG 4000 or PEG 6000 was used in combination with ammonium hydroxide for the pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse. Pretreatment was carried out by mixing sugarcane bagasse, ammonium hydroxide (28% v/v solution), and water at a ratio of 1:0.5:20, adding 3% (w/w) surfactant based on the weight of dry biomass, and heating the mixture to 160 °C for 1 h.

Pretreatment of energy cane bagasse with recycled ionic liquid for enzymatic hydrolysis.

A previous study revealed that energy cane bagasse (ECB) pretreated with ionic liquid (IL), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([EMIM][OAc]), exhibited significantly higher enzymatic digestibility than untreated or water-treated ECB due to delignification and reduction of cellulose crystallinity. This study evaluated the effect of multiple recycled IL on the pretreatment of ECB for enzymatic hydrolysis. ECB was pretreated with [EMIM][OAc] (5% (w/w)) at 100 °C or 120 °C for 0.

Effect of ionic liquid pretreatment on the chemical composition, structure and enzymatic hydrolysis of energy cane bagasse.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are promising solvents for the pretreatment of lignocellulose as they are thermally stable, environmentally friendly, recyclable, and have low volatility. This study evaluated the effect of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([EMIM][OAc]) for the pretreatment of energy cane bagasse in terms of biomass composition, structural changes and enzymatic digestibility. Energy cane bagasse was pretreated with [EMIM][OAc] (5% (w/w)) at 120 °C for 30 min followed by hydrolysis with commercially available enzymes, Spezyme CP and Novozyme 188.

Ethanol production from sorghum by a microwave-assisted dilute ammonia pretreatment.

The efficiency of a batch microwave-assisted ammonia heating system was investigated as pretreatment for sweet sorghum bagasse and its effect on porosity, chemical composition, particle size, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation into ethanol evaluated. Sorghum bagasse, fractionated into three particle size groups (9.5-18, 4-6 and 1-2mm), was pretreated with ammonium hydroxide (28% v/v solution) and water at a ratio of 1:0.

Dilute ammonia pretreatment of sorghum and its effectiveness on enzyme hydrolysis and ethanol fermentation.

A new pretreatment technology using dilute ammonium hydroxide was evaluated for ethanol production on sorghum. Sorghum fibers, ammonia, and water at a ratio of 1:0.14:8 were heated to 160 degrees C and held for 1 h under 140-160 psi pressure.

Compositional changes in sugarcane bagasse on low temperature, long-term diluted ammonia treatment.

Sugarcane bagasse is the major by-product of the sugar industry. It has a great potential for the production of biofuels and chemicals due to its considerable amount of cellulose and hemicellulose. In this study, we investigated a simple and economic pretreatment process using dilute ammonia for the storage of sugarcane bagasse.