Search Results (6)

Soil contamination with heavy metals is a significant environmental issue that adversely affects plant growth and agricultural productivity. Biochar and microbial inoculants have emerged as a promising approach to solving this problem, and previous studies have focused more on the remediation effects of single types of materials on heavy metal soil pollution. This study examined the impact of both standalone and combined applications of distiller’s grains biochar, Lactobacillus plantarum thallus, and the bacterial supernatant on the availability of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in soil, its physicochemical features, and its enzyme activities; this study also examined the growth, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and heavy metal accumulation of Sorghum-sudangrass. The findings suggest that the application of distiller’s grains biochar, Lactobacillus plantarum thallus, and the bacterial supernatant can improve the soil’s physical and chemical properties and enhance soil enzyme activity while reducing the availability of heavy metals in the soil. Furthermore, the addition of these materials promoted plant growth, increased stress resistance, and significantly decreased the accumulation of heavy metals in the plants. A thorough analysis of the results shows that applying 0.025% Lactobacillus plantarum thallus along with 4.4% distiller’s grains biochar produced the best results. Full article

Sorghum distillers grains (SDGs) produced from a sorghum liquor company were used for generating biohydrogen via dark fermentation at pH 4.5–6.5 and 55 °C with a batch test, and the biohydrogen electricity generation potential was evaluated. The experimental results show that pH markedly affects hydrogen concentration, hydrogen production rate (HPR) and hydrogen yield (HY), in that high acidic pH values result in high values. The HPR and HY ranged from 0.76 to 3.2 L/L-d and 21.4 to 62.3 mL/g chemical oxygen demand, respectively. These hydrogen production values were used to evaluate bioelectricity generation using a newly developed gas/liquid-fuel engine. The results show a new and prospective biomass source for biohydrogen production, bioelectricity generation and simultaneously solving the problem of treating SDGs when producing kaoliang liquor. Applications of the experimental results are also discussed. Full article

In the present study, changes in the physicochemical indices, ethyl carbamate (EC) precursor and EC contents, and microbial communities of fermented grains under different fermentation patterns during strong-aroma Baijiu (SAB) fermentation and changes in EC precursor and EC contents during distillation were investigated to study EC formation during these processes. In detail, the amounts of sorghum added in protocols C and D were half those added in protocols A and B (the normal SAB-producing technology). When fermented for about 30 to 35 days, the fermented grains of protocols A and C were, respectively, remixed with Daqu and second-distilled SAB (so-called “Huijiu jiaqu”, HJJQ) and fermented for about 30 to 40 days. The results showed that the acidities of the final fermented grains of protocols A (2.43 ± 0.09 mmol/10 g) and C (3.18 ± 0.08 mmol/10 g) were lower than those of protocols B (3.71 ± 0.07 mmol/10 g) and D (4.66 ± 0.10 mmol/10 g), while the alcohol contents in the final fermented grains of protocols A (18.33 ± 0.76%) and C (15.33 ± 1.08%) were higher than those of protocols B (5.10 ± 0.85%) and D (1.85 ± 0.62%). No significant differences were observed in the other physicochemical indices among the samples. The HJJQ operation significantly increases the alcohol content and reduces the acidity of the fermented grains but has little influence on the other physicochemical indices during SAB fermentation. Excluding the influence of the HJJQ operation and a half input of sorghum on the EC precursor and EC contents for the fermented grains of protocol B, the linear relationships between the EC content and alcohol (R²: 0.4465), citrulline (R²: 0.6962), urea (R²: 0.4705), and HCN (R²: 0.6324) contents were good (all the confidence levels were at 0.05), indicating that these compounds were the dominant EC precursors during SAB fermentation. HJJQ also facilitated the reaction between alcohol and other EC precursors, decreasing EC precursor content and increasing the EC content. KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated that EC precursors were mainly synthesized by alcohol and arginine metabolism. HCN (R²: 0.3875 to 0.8198) and alcohol (R²: 0.4642 to 0.8423) were the dominant EC precursors during SAB distillation. Overall, the HJJQ operation, especially in protocol C, could significantly reduce the content of EC in base SAB, and the base SAB obtained was of good quality. This, therefore, may be an alternative and effective way to reduce the EC content in base Baijiu. Full article

Kafirin is an endosperm-specific hydrophobic protein found in sorghum grain and the waste by-product from sorghum biorefineries known as sorghum dried distillers’ grain with solubles (DDGS). Because of kafirin’s poor nutritional profile (negative nitrogen balance, slow digestibility, and lack of some essential amino acids), its direct human use as a food is restricted. Nevertheless, increased focus on biofuel production from sorghum grain has triggered a new wave of research to use sorghum DDGS kafirin as a food-grade protein for biomaterials with diverse applications. These applications result from kafirin’s unique chemical nature: high hydrophobicity, evaporation-induced self-assembling capacity, elongated conformation, water insolubility, and low digestibility. Aqueous alcohol mixtures have been widely used for the extraction of kafirin. The composition, structure, extraction methodologies, and physiochemical properties of kafirin, emphasising its biomaterial functionality, are discussed in detail in this review. The literature survey reveals an in-depth understanding of extraction methodologies and their impact on structure functionality, which could assist in formulating materials of kafirin at a commercial scale. Ongoing research continues to explore the potential of kafirin and optimise its utilisation as a functional biomaterial, highlighting its valuable structural and physicochemical properties. Further studies should focus on covering gaps in the research as some of the current structural understanding comes from data on zein protein from maize. Full article

Sorghum is one of the most important foods, fodder, and technical crops grown in the world. Global climate change and environmental pollution with toxic industrial and agricultural waste are the most unfavorable environmental factors affecting the growth and development of sorghum, which leads to a decrease in product quality. The development of new environmentally friendly plant growth regulators to improve growth and increase the productivity of sorghum is an urgent task of modern agriculture. Currently, considerable attention is paid to the development of new environmentally friendly plant growth regulators based on 6-methyl-2-mercapto-4-hydroxypyrimidine sodium and potassium salts (Methyur and Kamethur) and N-oxide-2,6-dimethylpyridine (Ivin). Thanks to the use of plant growth regulators Methyur, Kamethur, and Ivin, it is possible to increase the productivity of agricultural crops and their adaptive properties to stress factors of abiotic nature. This work examines the use of plant growth regulators Methyur, Kamethur, and Ivin to increase the productivity of sorghum. Field experiments were carried out on grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) cv. Yarona and sweet sorghum (Sorghum saccharatum L.) cv. Favorite. Seeds sterilized with 1% KMnO₄ solution were treated either with distilled water (control sample) or with solutions of any plant growth regulators Methyur, Kamethur, or Ivin, applied at a concentration of 10⁻⁷ M for 24 h (experimental sample). Each control and experimental sample contained 50 plant seeds; the experiments were carried out in triplicate. Then the soaked seeds were planted in the soil. Yield indicators such as panicle length (in cm) and fresh weight of grain (in grams), determined in experimental samples of sorghum plants, were calculated as % in relation to similar indicators determined in control samples of sorghum plants. It was shown that the yield indicators of sorghum plants grown for 4 months in the field, treated with Methyur, Kamethur, and Ivin at a concentration of 10⁻⁷ M exceeded those of control plants. Panicle length (in %) of experimental grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) cv. Yarona increased by 7%—in plants treated with Kamethur, 20%—in plants treated with Methyur, and 17%—in plants treated with Ivin, compared to the control. Panicle length (in %) of experimental sweet sorghum (Sorghum saccharatum (L.) Moench) cv. Favorite increased by 36%—in plants treated with Kamethur, 37%—in plants treated with Methyur, and by 25%—in plants treated with Ivin, compared to the control. Grain fresh weight (in %) of experimental grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) cv. Yarona increased by 22%—in plants treated with Kamethur, 26%—in plants treated with Methyur, and 13%—in plants treated with Ivin, compared to the control. Grain fresh weight (in %) of experimental sweet sorghum (Sorghum saccharatum (L.) Moench) cv. Favorite increased by 24%—in plants treated with Kamethur, 38%—in plants treated with Methyur, and 35%—in plants treated with Ivin, compared to the control. Based on the results obtained, a conclusion was made about the high growth-stimulating effect of plant growth regulators, similar to the phytohormones auxins and cytokinin, and the dependence of their effect on their composition. It is proposed to use new environmentally friendly plant growth regulators Methyur, Kamethur, and Ivin to improve growth and increase the productivity of sorghum while reducing the use of environmentally toxic agrochemicals for plant protection and improving the environmental condition of the entire agricultural system. Full article

Chemically activated biochars prepared from sorghum distillers grain using two base activators (NaOH and KOH) were investigated for their adsorption properties with respect to ammonium nitrogen from aqueous solution. Detailed characterizations, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry (TG), and specific surface area analyses, were carried out to offer a broad evaluation of the prepared biochars. The results showed that the NaOH- and KOH-activated biochars exhibited significantly enhanced adsorption capacity, by 2.93 and 4.74 times, respectively, in comparison with the pristine biochar. Although the NaOH-activated biochar possessed larger specific surface area (132.8 and 117.7 m²/g for the NaOH- and KOH-activated biochars, respectively), the KOH-activated biochar had higher adsorption capacity owing to its much higher content of functional groups. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of the KOH-activated biochar at different temperatures were further studied. The biochar had a maximum adsorption capacity of 14.34 mg/g at 45 °C, which was satisfactory compared with other biochars prepared using different feedstocks. The adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics, and chemical adsorption was the rate-controlling step. The equilibrium data were consistent with the Freundlich isotherm, and the thermodynamic parameters suggested that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. Consequently, this work demonstrates that chemically activated biochar from sorghum distillers grain is effective for ammonium nitrogen removal. Full article