Press water from the mechanical drying of Douglas-fir wood chips has multiple beneficial effects on lignocellulolytic fungi.

Background: The mechanical drying of wood chips is an innovative method that improves the heating value of sawmill by-products in an energy-efficient continuous process. The liquid that comes out of the wood chips as press water (PW), however, contains a variety of undissolved as well as dissolved organic substances. The disposal of the PW as wastewater would generate additional costs due to its high organic load, offsetting the benefits in energy costs associated with the enhanced heating value of the wood chips.

Production of β-carotene with CCAP19/18 at physically simulated outdoor conditions.

Batch growth and β-carotene production of CCAP19/18 was investigated in flat-plate gas-lift photobioreactors with a light path of 2 cm, operated in physically simulated outdoor conditions. CCAP19/18 showed robust growth with respect to pH 8.0-9.

Preserving cultural heritage: Analyzing the antifungal potential of ionic liquids tested in paper restoration.

Early industrialization and the development of cheap production processes for paper have led to an exponential accumulation of paper-based documents during the last two centuries. Archives and libraries harbor vast amounts of ancient and modern documents and have to undertake extensive endeavors to protect them from abiotic and biotic deterioration. While services for mechanical preservation such as ex post de-acidification of historic documents are already commercially available, the possibilities for long-term protection of paper-based documents against fungal attack (apart from temperature and humidity control) are very limited.

Comparing the physiochemical parameters of three celluloses reveals new insights into substrate suitability for fungal enzyme production.

Background: The industrial applications of cellulases are mostly limited by the costs associated with their production. Optimized production pathways are therefore desirable. Based on their enzyme inducing capacity, celluloses are commonly used in fermentation media.