Bioresource Technology最新文献

Biomass-derived carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have the advantage of being green and low-cost, but their complex structure makes the study of their formation mechanism encounter a bottleneck. Lignin-derived CQDs were prepared by a two-step process of “low-temperature liquid depolymerization” coupled with “hydrothermal reaction” in a mild organic acid system. In the first step of the low-temperature acidolysis process, the lignin polymer first undergoes deethering and depolymerization reactions. During the hydrothermal process in the second step, the organic small molecules on the surface of the supernatant are enriched with reactive groups that are dehydrated, condensed, crosslinked, and carbonized under high temperature and pressure to form CQDs. On the other hand, these activated large sp² carbon domains in the oxidized solid residue from lignin acidolysis undergo hydrothermal cleavage under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, followed by deoxygenation and eventual decomposition into small carbon domain CQDs products. Among them, the supernatant component C1 after lignin acidolysis with abundant N-H and C-OH reactive groups is targeted as a key precursor for the formation of lignin-derived CQDs, and the resulting CQDs have both the highest QY (19.5%) and yield (16.5%). This study bridges the research gap on the formation mechanism of biomass-derived CQDs and offers a reference for the sustainable preparation of biomass-derived CQDs.

The integration of biochar into microbial Chain Elongation (CE) proves to be an effective tool of producing high-value bio-based products. This study innovatively applied biochar fabricated under microwave irradiation with carbon fiber cloth assistance into CE system. Results highlighted that microwave biochar achieved maximal CE efficiency yielding 8 g COD/L, with 3-fold increase to the blank group devoid of any biochar. Microwave biochar also obtained the highest substrate utilization rate of 94 %, while conventional biochar group recorded 90 % and the blank group was of 74 %. Mechanistic insights revealed that the reductive surface properties facilitated CE performance, which is relevant to fostering dominant genera of Parabacteroides, Bacteroides, and Macellibacteroides. By metagenomics, microwave biochar up-regulated functional genes and enzymes involved in CE process including ethanol oxidation, the reverse β-oxidation pathway, and the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway. This study effectively facilitated caproate production by utilizing a new microwave biochar preparation strategy.

Algae play a significant role in the global carbon cycle by utilizing photosynthesis to efficiently convert solar energy and atmospheric carbon dioxide into various chemical compounds, notably carbohydrates, pigments, lipids, and released oxygen, making them a unique sustainable cellular factory. Algae mostly consist of carbohydrates, which include a broad variety of structures that contribute to their distinct physical and chemical properties such as degree of polymerization, side chain, branching, degree of sulfation, hydrogen bond etc., these features play a crucial role in regulating many biological activity, nutritional and pharmaceutical properties. Algal carbohydrates have not received enough attention in spite of their distinctive structural traits linked to certain biological and physicochemical properties. Nevertheless, it is anticipated that there will be a significant increase in the near future due to increasing demand, sustainable source, biofuel generation and their bioactivity. This is facilitated by the abundance of easily accessible information on the structural data and distinctive characteristics of these biopolymers. This review delves into the different types of saccharides such as agar, alginate, fucoidan, carrageenan, ulvan, EPS and glucans synthesized by various macroalgal and microalgal systems, which include intracellular, extracellular and cell wall saccharides. Their structure, biosynthetic pathway, sources, production strategies and their applications in various field such as nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, biomedicine, food and feed, cosmetics, and bioenergy are also elaborately discussed. Algal polysaccharide has huge a scope for exploitation in future due to their application in food and pharmaceutical industry and it can become a huge source of capital and income.

The 5-hydroxyectoine is a natural protective agent with long-lasting moisturising and radiation resistance properties. It can be naturally synthesized by some extremophiles using the “bacterial milking” process, but this can corrode bioreactors and downstream purification may cause environmental pollution. In this study, an engineered Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain was constructed for the 5-hydroxyectoine production. First, three ectoine hydroxylases were characterised and the enzyme from Halomonas elongata was the most effective. The L-2,4-diaminobutyrate transaminase mutant was introduced into the engineered strain, which could accumulate 2.8 g/L 5-hydroxyectoine in shake flasks. By activating the glyoxylate cycle and balancing the α-ketoglutarate distribution, the 5-hydroxyectoine titer was further increased to 3.4 g/L. Finally, the optimized strain synthesized 58 g/L 5-hydroxyectoine via a semi-continuous feeding process in a NaCl-free medium. Overall, this study reported the highest titer of 5-hydroxyectoine synthesized by E. coli and established a low-salt fermentation process through the aforementioned efforts.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) biosynthesis is a promising alternative to traditional chemical synthesis. However, its application in engineering is hampered by poor gas mass transfer rates. Pressurization is an effective method to enhance mass transfer and increase synthesis yield, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This review examines the effects of high pressure on CO₂ biosynthesis, elucidating the mechanisms behind yield enhancement from three perspectives: microbial physiological traits, gas mass transfer and synthetic pathways. The critical role of pressurization in improving microbial activity and gas transfer efficiency is emphasized, with particular attention to maintaining pressure within microbial tolerance limits to maximize yield without compromising cell structure integrity.

Dual carbon metabolisms and the synergism contribute to improving nutrient recovery under mixotrophy. However, how synergism influences nutrient recovery has yet to be understood, which is revealed in the current study. Due to dual carbon metabolisms and synergism, the PO₄⁻-P recovery rate under mixotrophy reached 0.34 mg L⁻¹ h⁻¹. Due to the internal cycling of respiratory CO₂, the mutualistic index (MI) in terms of synergism helped Scenedesmus accumulate 27.49 % more biomass under mixotrophy than sum of the two controls. In contrast, MI contributed 0.26 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹ to the total modeled mixotrophic productivity of 1.15 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹. To total modeled PO₄⁻-P recovery, mixotrophic-auto, and mixotrophic-hetero shares were 42 % and 58 %. The synergism under mixotrophy contributed 20 % in total PO₄⁻-P recovery. The PO₄⁻-P recovery rate under mixotrophy was comparable to other biological P removal methods. These findings emphasize the potential of synergism in improving productivity and promoting resource recovery for sustainable wastewater treatment.

The explosive and biorefractory nature of nitrocellulose (NC) poses major risks to both humans and the environment. Expanding the range of microorganisms capable of degrading NC is essential, though the most effective known microorganisms, Desulfovibrio genera and Fusarium solani, achieve degradation rates of 5%-25%. Here, a novel strain, Rhodococcus pyridinivorans LZ1 was isolated, demonstrating the ability to degrade NC, with its growth potentially enhanced by the presence of NC. The degradation process was monitored by assessing changes in nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium. Notably, the –OH strength of NC increased over time, whereas the energetic functional groups (–NO₂ and O-NO₂) diminished. Furthermore, the presence of NC enhanced nitrate esterase activity 1–2-fold, indicating that ammonification was the primary pathway for NC biodegradation. By converting the nitrate ester of NC into hydroxyl, R. pyridinivorans LZ1 mitigates the harmful effects of NC, offering a promising approach for the treatment of NC waste and wastewater.

Wastewater resources can be used to produce microbial protein for animal feed or organic fertiliser, conserving food chain resources. This investigation has employed the fermented sewage to photoheterotrophically grown purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB) in a 2.5 m³ pilot-scale raceway-pond with infrared light to produce proteinaceous biomass. Fermented sewage with synthetic media consisting of sodium acetate and propionic acids at a surface-to-volume (S/V) ratio of 10 m²/m³ removed 89%, 93%, and 81% of chemical oxygen demand, ammonium nitrogen, and orthophosphate, respectively; whereas respective removal in fermented sewage alone without synthetic media was 73%, 73%, and 72% during batch operation of 120 h. The biomass yield of 0.88–0.95 g COD_biomass /g COD_removed with protein content of 40.3 ± 0.3%–43.9 ± 0.2% w/w was obtained for fermented sewage with synthetic media. The results revealed enhanced possibility of scaling-up the raceway reactor to recover resources from municipal wastewater and enable simultaneous high-rate PNSB single-cell protein production.

The aim was to develop a two-stage seeding strategy and its optimization to enhance the conversion of xylose to xylitol by Debaryomyces nepalensis NCYC 3413. To develop efficient seed, multi-response optimization was employed to obtain optimal inoculum age and volume where xylitol concentration, yield and productivity were maximized. The optimal conditions of inoculation age and volume were 5.86 h and 11.66 % (v/v), respectively. Maximized results were observed at 48 h as compared to 72 h pre-optimization. Xylitol concentration slightly improved from 56 g/L to 59.71 g/L (p-value = 0.043). Yield improved from 0.56 g/g to 0.66 g/g (p-value = 0.044), whereas, productivity showed a significant increase from 0.76 g/L.h to 1.24 g/L.h (p-value = 0.008). Xylose Reductase activity improved by 1.67-folds and Xylitol Dehydrogenase activity decreased by 1.3 folds. This work suggests a simple inoculum strategy that could expedite the enzyme system required for xylitol production, enabling a 1.7-fold increase in productivity.