tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39664819065352662062024-02-20T11:57:45.703-05:00Biomass, Biofuels, and BioChemicalsThis blog will talk about the issues about biomass, biofuels and biochemical production from lignocellulosic biomass.Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.comBlogger203125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-48090708459184810342012-04-15T11:58:00.000-04:002012-04-15T11:58:03.293-04:00Degree of biomass substrate solubilization<div style="text-align: justify;">
When evaluating the effect of pretreatment and especially enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass, we normally measure the monomeric sugar produced. At most time, quite a lot of soluble oligomers existing in the hydrolyzates that could not be measured by the standard HPLC analysis, which will lead to lower hydrolysis yield. This can be confirmed by post-dilute acid hydrolysis, showing several fold increase in monomeric sugars (glucose and xylose) yield. The reason for this is that most of the commercial enzyme cocktails are not for global use and need customization for a specific biomass substrate. Some new technology ends up with strains than can work on low DP soluble sugars. Therefore, measurement of the degree of biomass solubilization after pretreatment or/and enzymatic hydrolysis will be useful information for the estimation of the treatments. A weight loss is rough, but quick method.</div>
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<br />Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-30136976947137491622011-11-08T22:00:00.000-05:002011-11-08T22:00:09.688-05:00Moderate pretreatment: a practical approach for bioconversion of cellulosic biomass<div style="text-align: justify;">When pretreating biomass under harsh conditions (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: justify;">extreme</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: justify;"> pHs and high temperatures), biomass chemical components will degrade into by-products that become inhibitors for the subsequent processing. However, m</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: justify;">oderate pretreatment can be developed to avoid sugar degradation and toxic </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: justify;">compounds</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: justify;"> formation during pretreatment. As a result, a whole slurry process without inter-stage washing/detoxification can be used, which can </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: justify;">significantly</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: justify;"> reduce </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: justify;">capital</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: justify;">/operational cost. A moderate pretreatment must remove some lignin but do not break down lignin to simple compounds.It should achieve some defibrillization without much sugar degradation. In a word, It is enough as long as cell wall pores/channels are opened. "Over pretreatment" may improve cellulose accessibility but inevitably cause other chemical components degradation. The right degree of pretreatment is the key. </span></div>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-55814956118567162822011-11-03T20:09:00.000-04:002011-11-03T20:09:55.605-04:00The solution to 7 Billion Consuming Resources<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">On 11/01/2011, the world population hit 7 billion, a warning to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"> the world’s resources:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"> limited food, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">absolute water scarcity, increasing</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"> consumption of non-renewable oil.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16px;">One solution: technological advancements and a free market.</span><br />
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<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">Desalination: to get fresh water from the sea!</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">Hybrid and high yield food: Transgenic plants?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Alternative energy- biofuels,natural power sources like solar and wind may be an </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">alliterative</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"> before our fossil fuels run out.</span></li>
</ul>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-78338371429499731162011-11-02T21:17:00.000-04:002012-04-15T11:58:35.354-04:00Biomass particle size<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is agreed that biomass feedstock particle sizing can impact the economics of cellulosic ethanol commercialization through its effects on conversion yield and energy cost. Physical size reduction can not always achieve expected effect of biomass enzyme digestibility. For example, the thickness of woody biomass play more critical role in chemical pretreatment of wood chips than its length. Defibrillation of grass biomass is more efficient than size reduction in terms of enzymatic hydrolysis.</div>
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Therefore, for practical application, an appropriate size reduction needs to be selected based on the biomass type,what chemicals to be used for pretreatment. The smaller does not mean the best!</div>
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<br /></div>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-77989762042579576742011-10-31T22:05:00.000-04:002011-10-31T22:05:07.929-04:00Xylooligomers are strong inhibitors of cellulose hydrolysis by enzymesIt has been known that xylooligomers are the inhibitors to enzymatic hydrolysis. An customized enzyme cocktails have to be developed and applied on specific biomass substrates. Here are two recently published papers reported their research results on this issue.<br />
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<ul><li><i> "<a href="http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/pdf/1754-6834-4-18.pdf">Supplementation with xylanase and b-xylosidase to reduce xylo-oligomer and xylan inhibition of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose and pretreated corn stover</a>".</i></li>
<li><i> "<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_627671807">Hemicellulases and auxiliary enzymes for improved conversion of lignocellulosic</a> <a href="http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/pdf/1754-6834-4-5.pdf">biomass to monosaccharides</a>".</i></li>
</ul>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-65206588029100908332011-10-30T21:33:00.000-04:002011-10-30T21:33:35.470-04:00The dominating factor for biomass cellulose accessibility to external enzymes:To improve biomass cellulose accessibility to external enzymes, pretreatment is often required, which seems to plat the following roles depending on the processing conditions:<br />
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<ul><li>lignin or hemicellulose removal</li>
<li>destroy cellulose crystal structure,</li>
<li>open channels/cell wall pores</li>
<li>increase cellulose surface exposure.</li>
</ul><br />
Since enzymatic hydrolysis follows the tunneling mechanism: eroding glucose from the inside of cell wall to the outside. Therefore, the pores or channels in cell wall are the dominant factor for the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis, i.e. control the rate of diffusion/transport of enzymes and sugar dissolution.<br />
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Size reduction by mechanical milling before themo/chemical pretreatment is the worst scenario<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px;"> </span>although the surface area are improved.Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-50642227101346917532011-10-29T20:28:00.000-04:002011-10-29T20:28:58.889-04:00Direct one-step conversion of ligninocellulosic biomass to hydrogen-enriched biofuel<div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The common ways for thermal conversion are fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The bio-oils obtained by fast pyrolysis are highly oxygenated complex mixtures, which are viscous, corrosive, and relatively unstable. The high contents of water and oxygenated compounds lead to the low HHV and the significant change of the combustion characteristics. They are not miscible with petroleum-based liquids. There is no efficient route for the upgrading needed to produce a motor fuel.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The bio-oils obtained by hydrothermal liquefaction are a complex mixture of ketones, aldehydes, phenols, alkenes, fatty acids, esters, aromatics, and nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds with high oxygen content and low heating value.<o:p></o:p></span></div></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Direct One-Step Conversion of Lignin to Hydrogen-Enriched Biofuel involves in using solvent as the reaction medium and hydrogen donor with/without other catalysts, which can result in gasoline-like hydrocarbon product with high heating value and low char.</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div></div>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-34722021658287842762011-10-24T20:48:00.000-04:002011-10-24T20:48:24.795-04:00Promising New Accomplishments by Biofuel Vehicles<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 10.5pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Written by Alan Parker, an active blogger out of New York City whose writing covers green technology, the environment, and the great outdoors.<span> </span>You can follow him on Twitter @AGreenParker.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 10.5pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 10.5pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.5pt;"><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It isn't news to anybody that our oil supplies are disappearing rapidly, forcing car companies to develop new technologies that harness the power of alternative energy sources. Although most companies have been working on electric cars, several have also been dabbling in biofuels like ethanol, as a main fuel source for combustion engines. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of biofuels and increase support for them, some independent research teams have succeeded in some exceptional feats with biofuel vehicles of their own. These accomplishments are showing that greener forms of energy can be used in a practical and effective way to eliminate our reliance on oil and make the environment a healthier place.<br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><i> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.5pt;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cross-Continental Journeys</span></b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
At the end of 2010, the first ever ground-based trans-Antarctic expedition was completed using only biofuels. The vehicle, called the Bio-inspired Ice Vehicle or BIV, was funded by </span><a href="http://www.biofueldaily.com/reports/Winston_Wong_Bio_Inspired_Ice_Vehicle_Premiered_at_NCKU_999.html"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">biofuel advocate Winston Wong</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and is the world's first vehicle to complete a trans-Antarctic expedition using this type of power<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>. The BIV was engineered to not only display the potential of alternative energy, but also to stand up to some of the harshest conditions on the planet while carrying researchers across an entire continent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.5pt;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<b>Setting Land Speed Records</b><br />
A man named John Petsche set out to modify a Kawasaki motorcycle, aiming to create a vehicle that ran on an alternative fuel source, wasn't complicated or costly, and was designed for fuel efficiency. His result? A </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/09/homebrew-biodiesel-bike-sets-land-speed-record-at-56-mph/"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">homemade motorcycle powered by biofuel</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. The bike set a land speed record for the 350cc alternative fuel motorcycles at the Loring Timing Association in Maine. The most astounding thing is that John Petsche's motorcycle was built using parts already in existence. Therefore, it should be a simple task for manufacturers to replicate and possibly improve upon the design for mass manufacture.<br />
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<b>Distance Records in the Sky</b><br />
It isn't only land vehicles that are making use of biofuels. Airlines are now beginning to look for alternative means of powering their planes. In fact, </span><a href="http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/08/biofuel-takes-finnair-flight-to-new-record/"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finnair recently set a record</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> for the longest commercial flight powered by biofuel, over 900 miles. Despite this incredible achievement, the airline openly admits that, since biofuel-powered air travel is still in its infancy, it isn't financially practical to convert biofuel just yet. However, they are continuing to experiment with it in hopes of reducing their impact on the environment.<br />
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When speaking of the grounds for creating the BIV to cross Antarctica, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnF7OMNylzs"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Winston Wong</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> said that it was necessary to "do something that people can take notice [of] and say this is the future, the future of human endeavor” in an effort to reduce harm to the planet. The teams involved in the efforts above evidently placed stock in that same way of thinking, selecting rigorous ways to test different forms of alternative power. If we combine each of these cleaner energy forms and forward ideas, it is possible that we could soon see the beneficial impact that biofuels will have on our nation.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></i>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-85563903657648752482011-10-21T20:43:00.000-04:002011-10-21T20:43:55.680-04:00What is next of biofeuls and biochemicals?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Recently I have been in AIChE annual meeting at Minneapolis, MN. There I sensed a different atmosphere compared to what I felt last year: Less attendance and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">pessimistic in biofuels.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Indeed, in the past twenty years, DOE and other government agents spent tons of money to support technology development in biofuel production from biomass. People are expecting a sun-rising industry like IT in the past to boost the economy. Therefore, green technology once became a hot green waves hitting every aspects of people’s life, especially for biofuels. Unfortunately, the current dominant technologies claimed in patents and highlighted for biofuel production from biomass have actually been existing there for hundreds of years; none of them seems to solve the cheap sugar problem. Therefore, some anti-biofuel people even anticipate that there would be no biofuels in the next 20 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is true that at least cellulosic bioethanol will be dead if these technologies continue to control the government funding for 10 years. It really needs game-changing technology. Among all of the highlighted technologies, Agrivida technology recently stands out from nowhere and looks like a real solution for cheap sugar production from if it works as it claims. Therefore, hope is still shining somewhere as long as creativity is alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition, more interests and attention are shifting toward hydrocarbon fuel production from lignocellulosic biomass.<span> </span>And more value-added biochemicals are being produced from biomass although not heavily funded by government funding. <span> </span>Although a lot of uncertainty still exists for biofuels and biochemicals, one thing that never changes is that they are from renewable resources. Biodegradable materials and chemicals may become leading green products in the near future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-71355734385605116872011-10-03T22:41:00.000-04:002011-10-03T22:41:27.055-04:00Corn fiber as a raw material for hemicellulose and ethanol production<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Com fiber, a byproduct of the wet milling process, has shown to be a substrate of particular interest due to its abundance, ready availability and low value. Corn fiber is primarily composed of the outer seed covering or pericarp of the kernel, along with adherent starch with typicallyl 20% xylose and 10% arabinose in the form of arabinoxylan, 18-24% cellulose and 20% starch although its apparent composition varies considerably according to its source and the method of analysis. As estimate, ethanol yields from com could be increased by approximately 10% if the constituent sugars of corn fiber could be efficiently utilized. Since the xylan in seed fiber is highly branched with arabinose and may cross-links with phenolic acids, GH 10 xylanase and <span style="line-height: 115%;">ferulic acid esterases are suggested to supplement for enzymatic hydrolysis.</span></span> </div>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-26820032763950903382011-09-29T12:57:00.001-04:002011-09-29T23:02:00.409-04:00The Next Wave: The game-change technology for cheap sugars and biofuels<a href="http://biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2011/09/29/the-next-next-gen-cellulosic-biofuels/">A news from BiofuelsDigest </a>on Sept. 29,2011.<br />
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That’s what <a href="http://www.agrivida.com/">Agrivida</a> is up to.<br />
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<i>“We are expressing all the cell wall degrading systems in the plant,” explains Agrivida CEO Michael Raab, “as the core part of our technology. We can control the activity of those enzymes so that in the plant we can express all the enzymes in dormant form. After harvest, we activate the enzymes in the material, so you don’t have to pretreat in the same way. It makes the process lower temperature, with a moderate PH, and takes out a lot of capital costs and those high costs of dilute acid pretreatment. Also, we really reduce the enzyme loading.”</i><br />
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Biomass feedstocks with hydrolytic enzymes may enable the industry to lower the cost of both pretreatment and enzyme production/loadings, potentially (hopefully) to solve the problem of producing cheap sugar from the root.Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-84754135929756047932011-05-14T12:13:00.000-04:002011-05-14T12:13:26.873-04:00All quotes from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Touts Mass. Biofuels SectorQUOTE from: U.S. <a href="http://topics.treehugger.com/quote/02ah4xFaus9eY?q=Biofuel+OR+biofuels">Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Touts Mass. Biofuels Sector </a>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-6469537165440480852011-04-25T22:13:00.000-04:002011-04-25T22:13:17.169-04:00Challenges in commercialization of algal fuel<span style="font-size: large;">• Optimize stress conditions to obtain the highest possible yields of lipids in the cells because stress conditions can induce spontaneous mutation in cultivated strains.</span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">• Simplify harvesting systems to utilize the separation technologies in existing industry such as food, biopharmaceutical, chemical and waste water treatment sectors.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">• Utilize existing biodiesel production processes that requires a lipid material free of both water and free fatty acids</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">• Develop water tolerant downstream processes to avoid cost intensive drying </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22pt; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"></span></span></span>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-79758634955715033872011-04-21T11:56:00.004-04:002011-04-25T23:10:01.449-04:00$11+ trillion in biofuels production by 2050: International Energy Agency<a href="http://biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2011/04/21/11-trillion-in-biofuels-production-by-2050-international-energy-agency/"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">$11+ trillion in biofuels production by 2050: International Energy Agency</span></a>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-10620468982699794412011-04-12T21:27:00.002-04:002011-04-25T23:08:57.613-04:00Algae oil content of some microorganisms<colorscheme colors="#FFFFFF,#000000,#EEECE1,#1F497D,#4F81BD,#C0504D,#0000FF,#800080"></colorscheme><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 70px; width: 302px;"><tbody>
<tr><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="208"><div style="mso-char-wrap: 1; mso-kinsoku-overflow: 1; mso-vertical-align-special: bottom;"><span style="color: black;"></span></div></td><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="95"><div style="mso-char-wrap: 1; mso-kinsoku-overflow: 1; mso-vertical-align-special: bottom;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="208"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Microorganisms </span></span></div></td><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="95"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Oil content (% dry wt)</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="208"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Botryococcus braunii</span></i></span></div></td><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="95"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> 25–75</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="208"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Cylindrotheca sp. </span></i></span></div></td><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="95"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">16–37</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="208"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Nitzschia sp.</span></i></span></div></td><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="95"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> 45–47</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="208"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Schizochytrium sp. </span></i></span></div></td><td height="12" style="border-bottom: black 0px solid; border-left: black 0px solid; border-right: black 0px solid; border-top: black 0px solid; vertical-align: bottom;" width="95"><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">50–77</span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-31002775749805924752011-04-04T12:19:00.000-04:002011-04-04T12:19:08.018-04:00Bioconversions of lignocellulosic biomass: the points we cannot overlook<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Pretreatment</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• If you pretreat biomass at alkaline conditions, be sure to separate lignin before neutralization. Otherwise, the solublized lignin will be precipitated or re-deposited when pH drops.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• If you pretreat biomass at acidic conditions, be sure the temperature does not exceed 165 C. Otherwise, the lignin will condense and re-distribute through cell wall and become gel coat on the surface of pretreated fiber</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• If you pretreat biomass with organosolvents, make sure to recycle/re-use the solvents.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Post-pretreatment</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• If run detoxification, make sure the methods to be used with fundamental mechanisms. It is cheap and scalable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• Recover by-products and easily and economically deal with the chemicals if any.</span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Enzymatic hydrolysis</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• Know what biomass you are using and their sugar composition. Woody and non-woody biomass has different chemical (especially lignin and hemicelluloses) composition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• Know the pretreatment methods you used. The modification of cell wall structure and chemical composition differ under different thermochemical pretreatments.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• Know what substrate the enzyme cocktail development has been based on. Alkaline and acidic pretreated biomass will end up different cocktail characteristics. The enzyme cocktail may need to be customized in terms of the specific pretreated biomass.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Process</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• Avoid or reduce unit operations as much as possible</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• Be as simple as possible for process configuration</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• Use high solids if possible</span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Fermentation</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• Use cheap nutrients if possible</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">• Ferment C6 and C5 sugars if possible</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-32013523670451121832011-04-01T16:56:00.001-04:002011-04-25T23:09:24.594-04:00Fatty acid composition of microalgal oil<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 464px;"><colgroup><span style="color: black;"><col style="mso-width-source: userset; width: 119pt;" width="158"><col style="mso-width-source: userset; width: 115pt;" width="154"><col style="mso-width-source: userset; width: 114pt;" width="152"></span></colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="oa1" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 119pt;" width="158"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><u>Fatty acid</u></span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 115pt;" width="154"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><u>Chain length: no. of double bonds</u></span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 114pt;" width="152"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><u>Oil composition (w/total lipid)</u></span></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="oa1" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 119pt;" width="158"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Palmitic acid </span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 115pt;" width="154"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">16:00</span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 114pt;" width="152"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">12–21</span></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="oa1" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 119pt;" width="158"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Palmitoleic acid </span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 115pt;" width="154"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">16:01</span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 114pt;" width="152"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>55–57</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="oa1" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 119pt;" width="158"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Stearic acid </span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 115pt;" width="154"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">18:00</span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 114pt;" width="152"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">1–2</span></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="oa1" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 119pt;" width="158"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Oleic acid </span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 115pt;" width="154"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">18:01</span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 114pt;" width="152"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">58–60</span></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="oa1" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 119pt;" width="158"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Linoleic acid </span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 115pt;" width="154"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">18:02</span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 114pt;" width="152"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">4–20</span></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="oa1" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 119pt;" width="158"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Linolenic acid </span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 115pt;" width="154"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">18:03</span></div></td><td class="oa1" style="width: 114pt;" width="152"><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: bottom; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">14–30</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span><br />
<em><span style="color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">(</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Meng</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"> et al., 2009).</span></span></em>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-47844402335041759102011-03-10T21:29:00.000-05:002011-03-10T21:29:46.695-05:00Heating values of diesel and biodiesel<span style="font-family: "TimesNewRoman", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRoman;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The high heating value</span></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: "TimesNewRoman", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRoman;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Petroleum diesel: 42.7 MJ/kg. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "TimesNewRoman", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRoman;"></span><span style="font-family: "TimesNewRoman", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRoman;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Biodiesel derived from seed oils, such as rapeseed or soybean: 37 MJ/kg.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "TimesNewRoman", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRoman;"></span><span style="font-family: "TimesNewRoman", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRoman;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Biodiesel derived from algae: 41 MJ/kg.</span></span></li>
</ul>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-78866580912868683982011-03-05T23:59:00.000-05:002011-03-05T23:59:13.300-05:00An informative review paper on the physico-chemical properties of feedstocks for biodiesel production<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">A summarized information was presented in Tables in this </span><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V24-5045DNG-5&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1666550346&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=3ae0ae268f6a324302f9c21df8c6d561&searchtype=a"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">paper</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> on the following aspects:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Yields of vegetable oils and their fatty acid composition.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Influence of feedstocks on biodiesel process selection and operating conditions.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Physico-chemical properties of methyl esters from various bio-oils.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Physico-chemical properties of methyl esters from various bio-oils.</span></li>
</ul>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-9287056446131336422011-03-02T20:37:00.000-05:002011-03-02T20:37:54.245-05:00ARPA-E 2011 Keynote: Secretary Steven ChuNews: Secretary for the US Department of Energy, Steven Chu, discusses the big picture of how the United States uses Energy and why innovation in clean technology is the key to Winning the Future.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QHVOoUDpN4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QHVOoUDpN4</a>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-25534490273965691012011-02-27T22:31:00.003-05:002011-03-17T09:52:05.276-04:00Universal or “customized” enzyme cocktail for sugar production<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Currently available commercial enzyme preparations are limited in number and composition and have generally been optimized for acid-pretreated stover from maize and other grasses.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">However, lignocellulosic feedstocks for sugar production include a variety of biomass: woody biomass such as softwood and hardwood, waste paper; non-wood biomass such as grass stovers (e.g., maize, sorghum, switchgrass or Miscanthus); and other biomass materials such as corn cobs, dried distillers’ grains solubles. All these biomass have different chemical composition, which will response differently to different pretreatments (e. acidic, basic, or oxidation), resulting in pretreated biomass with different chemical composition, even sugar composition. Therefore a general enzyme cocktail may work well for one type biomass or one type of pretreated biomass but not efficiently for other biomass. For example, for grass biomass with branchy arabinose and glucuronic acid, it may need GH10 endo-xylanase, a-arabinosidase, and a-glucuronidase. For woody biomass, in addition to the key endo-and exo-glucanases and endo-xylananse, it may need ferulate esterase and beta-mannanase. For acid pretreatment at a temperature >160 C, some of biomass hemicelluloses will be removed but some lignin may condense or re-deposit on fiber surface; while alkaline pretreatment will delignify but may have hemicelluloses re-deposited on the fiber surface. All of these will impact the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis and may require specifically modified enzyme cocktails. Therefore, a modified “customized” enzyme cocktail is more appropriate to adapt the spectrum of biomass and pretreatment combination for target hydrolysis. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_90215091"></span><span id="goog_90215092"></span>A good research <a href="http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/pdf/1754-6834-3-22.pdf">paper</a> presents a study on this issue.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-38523010765844020692011-02-26T09:54:00.002-05:002011-02-26T09:58:44.605-05:00In planta expression of highly thermostable enzymes<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>In planta</em> enzyme expression uses plants instead of microbial bioreactors as a “factory” to produce industrial hydrolytic enzymes for biofuel production. The enzymes that are active at typical and ambient plant growth temperatures will hurt plant normal growth/phenotypes and produce shriveled seeds as reported in the research </span></span><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2009.00490.x/full"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">paper</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">However, <em>in planta</em> expression of thermophilic enzymes have been suggested as a method to reduce the detrimental effects on plants as these enzymes have higher temperature optima than encountered during plant growth. As a result, the plant stover can be pretreated at a relatively high temperature to induce their activation during processing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Since a typical enzyme cocktail will require a combination of different class of enzymes to work together to destroy the cell wall for hydrolysis, is it possible to find all the key enzymes with thermophilibility and express them into a single plant without impacting plant growth?</span><br />
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<em></em></div>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-70936471035650113552011-02-25T21:31:00.001-05:002011-02-26T09:59:53.382-05:00Hemicelluloses for fuel ethanol-A good source of information but what else can we get?<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">A good summary in this </span><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V24-4YDTRS9-2&_user=10&_coverDate=07%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=7202999469b0f2fc0528857be8b66a29&searchtype=a"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">review paper</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> with the following aspects:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">various hemicelluloses structures present in lignocellulosic biomass</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> the range of pre-treatment and hydrolysis options including the enzymatic ones</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> the role of different microbial strains on process integration aiming to reach a meaningful consolidated bioprocessing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">the recent trends, technical barriers and perspectives of future development are highlighted.</span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">So far, all the review paper on biomass pretreatments cover almost the same: list the acid, alkaline, wet oxidation, organosolv, ionic liquids pretreatments and their advantages and disadvantages, based on which comes a conclusion: no ‘‘ideal” pre-treatment.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Actually there do exist good pretreatments, which are effective under low temperature and less by-products. In addition, a milder pretreatment with an efficient process configuration is able to overcome some drawbacks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The pretreatment I have is conducted at a temperature lower than 120 C and near neutral alkaline conditions, which significantly reduce up-front capital cost and operational cost as well as the chemicals required for neutralization. In addition, a simple process configuration is used for more practical application, which will make it more economical competitive.</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">My advice: do not just look at these review papers when developing your own pretreatments. They are good sources and references. Understand the fundamentals first and jump out of the box. Remember: be simple for the process.</span></div><br />
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</div>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-2485940795773542022011-02-17T20:44:00.002-05:002011-02-26T10:15:16.646-05:00The latest MIT Sloan report on "Sustainability: The‘Embracers’ Seize Advantage"<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Here is the latest MIT Sloan report on "</span><a href="http://c0426007.cdn2.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/MIT-SMR-BCG-sustainability-the-embracers-seize-advantage-2011.pdf"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Sustainability: The‘Embracers’ Seize Advantage</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Is it "W" shape for sustaibable business development and investiment?</span>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966481906535266206.post-4256486451913751002011-02-14T10:36:00.002-05:002011-02-26T10:16:17.222-05:00The first engineered trait designed for the ethanol industry<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.6pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/business/12corn.html?_r=1&ref=politics"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The news</span></a><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">: A corn called </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/business/12corn.html?_r=1&ref=politics"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Enogen</span></a><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the first crops genetically engineered to contain a hydrolytic trait that has been approved<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> or commercial growing by the Department of Agriculture. The crop with this self-hydrolysis trait will </span>increase ethanol output while reducing the use of water, energy and chemicals in the production process.<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></span></div>Onedrophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14656833554702128333noreply@blogger.com0