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Advanced Biorefining: Advances in Co-production of Renewable Biomaterials and Biofuels

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2019) | Viewed by 22619

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. David Bressler

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Interests: biofuels; biomaterials; biorefining; integrated processing; biocomposites; sustainability

Dr. Michael Chae

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Interests: biofuels; biomaterials; biorefining; integrated processing; biocomposites; sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the major hurdles for the deployment of both advanced biomaterials and biofuels is the introduction of a new product into established marketplaces that have optimized incumbent products. One promising approach to overcome the economic barriers to marketplace entry is the integrated co-production of high value biomaterials and biofuels through biorefining approaches. Over the past decade, in the United States, Europe, and the rest of the world, efforts have begun to focus on these integrated approaches with the production of nano-structured materials, carbon fibers, and other carbonaceous materials along with 2nd generation and advanced biofuels. With an increasing focus on products and processes with ever increasing carbon emission efficiency the next decade promises development and deployment of these new materials and fuels at an increasing pace. This Special Issue, will explore state-of-the-art progress in the areas of technology development, techno-economic evaluation, environmental impact and sustainability from the multidisciplinary scientific community developing these new advanced bioproducts.

Prof. David Bressler
Dr. Michael Chae
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Biofuels
Biomaterials
Biorefining
Integrated Processing
Biocomposites
Sustainability

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 1041 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Potential of Using Immobilized Xylanases to Enhance the Hydrolysis of Soluble, Biomass Derived Xylooligomers

by Jinguang Hu, Joshua Davies, Yiu Ki Mok, Claudio Arato and John N. Saddler

Materials 2018, 11(10), 2005; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11102005 - 17 Oct 2018

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2179

Abstract

Earlier work had indicated that enzyme-mediated hydrolysis of xylooligomer-rich water-soluble streams (derived from steam pre-treated wheat straw) resulted in the effective production of xylose which was subsequently used to produce bio-glycol. In the work reported here, both the thermostability and recyclability of xylanases were significantly improved by covalent immobilizing the enzymes onto alginate beads. The immobilized xylanases showed a lower hydrolytic potential (~55% xylooligomer conversion) compared to the commercial xylanase cocktail HTec3 (~90% xylooligomer conversion) when used at the same protein loading concentration. This was likely due to the less efficient immobilization of key higher molecular weight enzymes (>75 kDa), such as β-xylosidases. However, enzyme immobilization could be improved by lowering the glutaraldehyde loading used to activate the alginate beads, resulting in improved hydrolysis efficacy (~65% xylooligomer conversion). Enzyme immobilization improved enzyme thermostability (endoxylanase and β-xylosidase activities were improved by 80% and 40%, respectively, after 24 h hydrolysis) and this allowed the immobilized enzymes to be reused/recycled for multiple rounds of hydrolysis (up to five times) without any significant reduction in their hydrolytic potential. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biorefining: Advances in Co-production of Renewable Biomaterials and Biofuels)

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11 pages, 2046 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficient Extraction of a Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)-Rich Lipid Fraction from Thraustochytrium sp. Using Ionic Liquids

by Yujie Zhang, Valerie Ward, Dorothy Dennis, Natalia V. Plechkova, Roberto Armenta and Lars Rehmann

Materials 2018, 11(10), 1986; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11101986 - 15 Oct 2018

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5353

Abstract

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play a significant role in the modulation and prevention of various diseases, and hence are attracting increasing attention from the biotech industry. Thraustochytrids are marine heterokonts that exhibit robust growth rates, high PUFA content, and more specifically, a large percentage of omega-3 fatty acids like docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Recently, ionic liquids (ILs) have been shown to improve the efficiency of organic solvent extraction of oils from wet oleaginous yeast and microalgae under mild conditions. Two ILs, the imidazolium 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate [C₂mim][EtSO₄] IL and the phosphonium (tetrabutylphosphonium propanoate [P₄₄₄₄][Prop]) IL were assessed for their ability to facilitate extraction of PUFA-containing lipids from a Thraustochytrium sp. (T18) through efficient cell wall disruption. The oil extracted after IL pretreatment was further characterized with respect to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition, while the effects of process parameters, such as the ratio of ionic liquid to co-solvent, the mass ratio of microalgae to the mixture of ionic liquid, and type of co-solvent were also investigated for both ILs. The results indicate that these ILs can disrupt the cells of Thraustochytrium sp. when mixed with a co-solvent (methanol), and facilitated the recovery of oils over a large degree of dewatered Thraustochytrium biomass (0–77.2 wt% water) in a short period of time (60 min) at ambient temperature, hence demonstrating a water compatible, low-energy, lipid recovery method. The lipid recovery was not affected by repeated usage of recycled ILs (tested up to five times). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biorefining: Advances in Co-production of Renewable Biomaterials and Biofuels)

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15 pages, 1502 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Co-Production of Cellulose Nanocrystals and Fermentable Sugars Assisted by Endoglucanase Treatment of Wood Pulp

by Jing Dai, Michael Chae, Dawit Beyene, Christophe Danumah, Frank Tosto and David C. Bressler

Materials 2018, 11(9), 1645; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11091645 - 07 Sep 2018

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 3886

Abstract

In this study, fermentable sugars and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were co-produced from endoglucanase treatment of wood pulp, followed by acid hydrolysis. Enzymatic hydrolysis was performed using two endoglucanases differentiated by the presence or absence of a cellulose-binding domain (CBD). The enzyme with an intact CBD gave the higher glucan conversion (up to 14.1 ± 1.2 wt %) and improved the degree of crystallinity of the recovered wood pulp fiber (up to 83.0 ± 1.0%). Thus, this endoglucanase-assisted treatment successfully removed amorphous content from the original cellulosic feedstock. CNC recovery (16.9 ± 0.7 wt %) from the feedstock going into the acid hydrolysis was improved relative to untreated pulp (13.2 ± 0.6 wt %). The mass loss from enzymatic treatment did not cause a decrease in the CNC yield from the starting material. The characteristics of CNCs obtained through acid hydrolysis (with or without enzyme treatment of pulp) were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry as characterization techniques. The CNCs generated through acid hydrolysis of endoglucanase-treated wood pulp displayed comparable properties relative to those generated using untreated pulp. Thus, endoglucanase treatment can enable co-production of CNCs and sugars for biofuel fermentation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biorefining: Advances in Co-production of Renewable Biomaterials and Biofuels)

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16 pages, 28922 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of Cellulase-Treated Fibers and Resulting Cellulose Nanocrystals Generated through Acid Hydrolysis

by Dawit Beyene, Michael Chae, Jing Dai, Christophe Danumah, Frank Tosto, Abayneh Getachew Demesa and David C. Bressler

Materials 2018, 11(8), 1272; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11081272 - 24 Jul 2018

Cited by 55 | Viewed by 5919

Abstract

Integrating enzymatic treatment and acid hydrolysis potentially improves the economics of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) production and demonstrates a sustainable cellulosic ethanol co-generation strategy. In this study, the effect of enzymatic treatment on filter paper and wood pulp fibers, and CNCs generated via subsequent acid hydrolysis were assessed. Characterization was performed using a pulp quality monitoring system, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. Enzymatic treatment partially reduced fiber length, but caused swelling, indicating simultaneous fragmentation and layer erosion. Preferential hydrolysis of less ordered cellulose by cellulases slightly improved the crystallinity index of filter paper fiber from 86% to 88%, though no change was observed for wood pulp fibre. All CNC colloids were stable with zeta potential values below −39 mV and hydrodynamic diameters ranging from 205 to 294 nm. Furthermore, the temperature for the peak rate of CNC thermal degradation was generally not affected by enzymatic treatment. These findings demonstrate that CNCs of comparable quality can be produced from an enzymatically-mediated acid hydrolysis biorefining strategy that co-generates fermentable sugars for biofuel production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biorefining: Advances in Co-production of Renewable Biomaterials and Biofuels)

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18 pages, 2749 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Co-Production of Renewable Biomaterials on the Performance of Asphalt Binder in Macro and Micro Perspectives

by Xin Qu, Quan Liu, Chao Wang, Dawei Wang and Markus Oeser

Materials 2018, 11(2), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11020244 - 06 Feb 2018

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 4819

Abstract

Conventional asphalt binder derived from the petroleum refining process is widely used in pavement engineering. However, asphalt binder is a non-renewable material. Therefore, the use of a co-production of renewable bio-oil as a modifier for petroleum asphalt has recently been getting more attention in the pavement field due to its renewability and its optimization for conventional petroleum-based asphalt binder. Significant research efforts have been done that mainly focus on the mechanical properties of bio-asphalt binder. However, there is still a lack of studies describing the effects of the co-production on performance of asphalt binders from a micro-scale perspective to better understand the fundamental modification mechanism. In this study, a reasonable molecular structure for the co-production of renewable bio-oils is created based on previous research findings and the observed functional groups from Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy tests, which are fundamental and critical for establishing the molecular model of bio-asphalt binder with various biomaterials contents. Molecular simulation shows that the increase of biomaterial content causes the decrease of cohesion energy density, which can be related to the observed decrease of dynamic modulus. Additionally, a parameter of Flexibility Index is employed to characterize the ability of asphalt binder to resist deformation under oscillatory loading accurately. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biorefining: Advances in Co-production of Renewable Biomaterials and Biofuels)

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