Production of optically pure L(+)-lactic acid from waste plywood chips using an isolated thermotolerant Enterococcus faecalis SI at a pilot scale.

Utilization of renewable and low-cost lignocellulosic wastes has received major focus in industrial lactic acid production. The use of high solid loadings in biomass pretreatment potentially offers advantages over low solid loadings including higher lactic acid concentration with decreased production and capital costs. In this study, an isolated Enterococcus faecalis SI with optimal temperature 42 °C was used to produce optically pure L-lactic acid (> 99%) from enzyme-saccharified hydrolysates of acid-impregnated steam explosion (AISE)-treated plywood chips.

Bioethanol production from recovered napier grass with heavy metals.

Using plants to absorb and accumulate heavy metals from polluted soil, followed by the recycling of explants containing heavy metals, can help achieve the goal of reverting contaminated soil to low heavy-metal content soil. However, the re-use of recovered explants can also be problematic. Meanwhile, bioethanol has become a popular energy source.

Ethanol production from dilute-acid steam exploded lignocellulosic feedstocks using an isolated multistress-tolerant Pichia kudriavzevii strain.

Renewable and low-cost lignocellulosic wastes have attractive applications in bioethanol production. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most widely used ethanol-producing microbe; however, its fermentation temperature (30-35°C) is not optimum (40-50°C) for enzymatic hydrolysis in the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process. In this study, we successfully performed an SSF process at 42°C from a high solid loading of 20% (w/v) acid-impregnated steam explosion (AISE)-treated rice straw with low inhibitor concentrations (furfural 0.

Production of optically pure L-lactic acid from lignocellulosic hydrolysate by using a newly isolated and D-lactate dehydrogenase gene-deficient Lactobacillus paracasei strain.

The use of lignocellulosic feedstock for lactic acid production with a difficulty is that the release of inhibitory compounds during the pretreatment process which inhibit the growth of microorganism. Thus we report a novel lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus paracasei 7 BL, that has a high tolerance to inhibitors and produced optically pure l-lactic acid after the interruption of ldhD gene. The strain 7 BL fermented glucose efficiently and showed high titer of l-lactic acid (215 g/l) by fed-batch strategy.

Pilot-scale study on the acid-catalyzed steam explosion of rice straw using a continuous pretreatment system.

A continuous acid-catalyzed steam explosion pretreatment process and system to produce cellulosic ethanol was developed at the pilot-scale. The effects of the following parameters on the pretreatment efficiency of rice straw feedstocks were investigated: the acid concentration, the reaction temperature, the residence time, the feedstock size, the explosion pressure and the screw speed. The optimal presteaming horizontal reactor conditions for the pretreatment process are as follows: 1.

Method of 2,3-butanediol production from glycerol and acid-pretreated rice straw hydrolysate by newly isolated strains: pre-evaluation as an integrated biorefinery process.

The present study validated a bioconversion technology for the production of 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) using sugars, glycerol and lignocellulosic material by three newly isolated strains-two Klebsiella sp. and one Serratia sp. One Klebsiella sp.

An improved method of xylose utilization by recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The aim of this study was to develop a method to optimize expression levels of xylose-metabolizing enzymes to improve xylose utilization capacity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A xylose-utilizing recombinant S. cerevisiae strain YY2KL, able to express nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced (NADPH)-dependent xylose reductase (XR), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+))-dependent xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH), and xylulokinase (XK), showed a low ethanol yield and sugar consumption rate.

Pilot-scale ethanol production from rice straw hydrolysates using xylose-fermenting Pichia stipitis.

Ethanol was produced at pilot scale from rice straw hydrolysates using a Pichia stipitis strain previously adapted to NaOH-neutralized hydrolysates. The highest ethanol yield was 0.44 ± 0.

Pretreatment of rice straw using an extrusion/extraction process at bench-scale for producing cellulosic ethanol.

A combination of a twin-screw extrusion and an acid-catalyzed hot water extraction process performed at a bench-scale was used to prepare high monomeric xylose hydrolysate for cellulosic production. The influences of the screw speed (30-150 rpm), barrel temperature (80-160 °C) and corresponding specific mechanical energy of the extruder on the structural properties of the pretreated rice straw, sugar concentration and conversion were investigated. The optimal condition for the extrusion step was determined to be 40 rpm with 3% H2SO4 at 120 °C; the optimal condition for the extraction step was determined to be 130 °C for 20 min.

Ethanol production efficiency of an anaerobic hemicellulolytic thermophilic bacterium, strain NTOU1, isolated from a marine shallow hydrothermal vent in Taiwan.

A new extremely thermophilic, anaerobic, gram-negative bacterium, strain NTOU1, was enriched and isolated from acidic marine hydrothermal fluids off Gueishandao island in Taiwan with 0.5% starch and 0.5% maltose as carbon sources.

Pretreatment efficiency and structural characterization of rice straw by an integrated process of dilute-acid and steam explosion for bioethanol production.

The combined pretreatment of rice straw using dilute-acid and steam explosion followed by enzymatic hydrolysis was investigated and compared with acid-catalyzed steam explosion pretreatment. In addition to measuring the chemical composition, including glucan, xylan and lignin content, changes in rice straw features after pretreatment were investigated in terms of the straw's physical properties. These properties included crystallinity, surface area, mean particle size and scanning electron microscopy imagery.

Development of a yeast strain for xylitol production without hydrolysate detoxification as part of the integration of co-product generation within the lignocellulosic ethanol process.

The present study verified an applicable technology of xylitol bioconversion as part of the integration of co-product generation within second-generation bioethanol processes. A newly isolated yeast strain, Candida tropicalis JH030, was shown to have a capacity for xylitol production from hemicellulosic hydrolysate without detoxification. The yeast gives a promising xylitol yield of 0.

Effect of dilute acid pretreatment of rice straw on structural properties and enzymatic hydrolysis.

This study aim is to propose operational conditions for the dilute acid pretreatment of rice straw and to explore the effect of the structural properties of the solid residues on the enzymatic hydrolysis. A maximal sugar yield of 83% was achieved when the rice straw was pretreated with 1% (w/w) sulfuric acid with a reaction time of 1-5 min at 160 degrees C or 180 degrees C, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis. The completely release of sugar (xylose and glucose) increased the pore volume of the pretreated solid residues resulted in an efficiency of 70% for the enzymatic hydrolysis.

Enhanced ethanol production by fermentation of rice straw hydrolysate without detoxification using a newly adapted strain of Pichia stipitis.

An enhanced inhibitor-tolerant strain of Pichia stipitis was successfully developed through adaptation to acid-treated rice straw hydrolysate. The ethanol production obtained by fermentation of NaOH-neutralized hydrolysate without detoxification using the adapted P. stipitis was comparable to fermentation of overliming-detoxified hydrolysate.

Characterization of dilute acid pretreatment of silvergrass for ethanol production.

Pretreatment with dilute sulfuric acid of silvergrass was compared with the pretreatment's effect on other commonly used lignocellulosic materials, namely rice straw and bagasse, in order to evaluate the potential of this feedstock for ethanol production. The highest yield of xylose from silvergrass was between 70% and 75%, which was similar to bagasse. However, silvergrass gave a higher level of fermentability than bagasse using the hydrolysate because less acetic acid was formed.

Dose evaluation and measurement of the 188Re liquid-filled balloon in intravascular brachytherapy.

We compared the Monte Carlo evaluation and GafChromic MD-55 film experimental measurement of 188Re liquid-filled balloons in intravascular brachytherapy using two phantoms of 6 mm vascular diameter, a phantom of 4 mm vascular diameter and a phantom of 3 mm vascular diameter. A dose-evaluation interface program was developed and was shown to be capable of quickly providing information such as the necessary 188Re source irradiation time to deliver a prescribed dose.

The absolute counting of 166mHo, 58Co and 88Y.

In this study, absolute 4pi beta-gamma-coincidence counting was used to measure the mass activity of 166mHo, 58Co and 88Y. For 166mHo and 88Y, three gamma windows were set to study the systematic error caused by the different gamma window settings. To eliminate the effect arising from the large difference in counting efficiency of the 4pi beta counter between electron capture events and beta+ particles, the two-dimensional extrapolation method was used to measure 58Co.