MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Bioresource Technology' source. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:27:59 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3379788&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20236820%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Piazza GJ, Garcia RA Partially hydrolyzed extracts from blood meal, feather meal, and meat and bone meal, as well as a variety of common surplus agricultural proteins were tested for their ability to promote the flocculation of clay. Partial alkaline or enzymatic hydrolyses of blood meal, feather meal, and meat and bone meal were performed to liberate proteins and peptides from their water-insoluble forms. Some of these extracts promoted flocculation. However, if hydrolysis was extensive, low molecular weight peptides were mainly produced, and these extracts did not promote flocculation. Beef skin gelatins and hydrolyzed fish collagen were found to promote flocculation when pH 5.5 buffer was added. Commercial preparations of peptone enzymatic digest and a mixture of keratin an... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3379788 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3379788 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3379789&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20236819%26dopt%3DAbstract This study investigated a novel two-stage corn straw utilization strategy for fumaric acid production by Rhizopus oryzae. Fungal growth was approached in hydrolysates from acid hydrolysis of corn straw, contained 30g/l xylose; and fumaric acid production was occurred in hydrolysates from enzymatic hydrolysis of the residue corn straw after acid hydrolysis, contained 80g/l glucose. Under the optimal condition using this two-stage corn straw utilization strategy, the fumaric acid production, was up to 27.79g/l, with the yield of 0.35g/g, productivity of 0.33g/l/h. PMID: 20236819 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioresource Technology) Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3379789 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3379789 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3379787&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20236821%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jian J, Li ZJ, Ye HM, Yuan MQ, Chen GQ Polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase gene phaC(ah) in Aeromonas hydrophila strain 4AK4 was deleted and its function was replaced by phaC1(ps) cloned from Pseudomonas stutzeri strain 1317 which favors 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HHx) and longer chain length monomers. Genes fadD and fadL encoding Escherichia coli acyl-CoA synthase and Pseudomonas putida KT2442 fatty acid transport protein, respectively, were introduced into the recombinant with new phaC1(ps). Accumulation of a series of novel medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHA) consisting of 80-94mol% 3HHx were observed. The recombinant accumulated 54% poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) in cell dry weight consisting of 94.5mol% 3HHx or 51% poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhex... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3379787 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3379787 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3379786&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20236822%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Marques G, Gamelas JA, Ruiz-Dueñas FJ, Del Rio JC, Evtuguin DV, Martínez AT, Gutiérrez A Oxidation of the manganese-substituted polyoxometalate [SiW(11)Mn(II)(H(2)O)O(39)](6-) (SiW(11)Mn(II)) to [SiW(11)Mn(III)(H(2)O)O(39)](5-) (SiW(11)Mn(III)), one of the most selective polyoxometalates for the kraft pulp delignification, by versatile peroxidase (VP) was studied. First, SiW(11)Mn(II) was demonstrated to be quickly oxidized by VP at room temperature in the presence of H(2)O(2) (K(m)=6.4+/-0.7mM and k(cat)=47+/-2s(-1)). Second, the filtrate from eucalypt pulp delignification containing reduced polyoxometalate was treated with VP/H(2)O(2), and 95-100% reoxidation was attained. In this way, it was possible to reuse the liquor from a first SiW(11)Mn(III) stage for f... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3379786 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3379786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371647&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20231088%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Monteiro AS, Bonfim MR, Domingues VS, Corrêa A, Siqueira EP, Zani CL, Santos VL New bioemulsifier-producing yeasts were isolated from the biological wastewater treatment plant of a dairy industry. Of the 31 bioemulsifier-producing strains, 12 showed emulsifying activity after 2months of incubation, with E(24) values ranging from 7% to 78%. However, only Trichosporon loubieri CLV20, Geotrichum sp. CLOA40, and T. montevideense CLOA70 exhibited high emulsion-stabilizing capacity, with E(24) values of 78%, 67%, and 66%, respectively. These isolates were shown to induce a strong emulsion stabilizing activity rather than the reduction of the interfacial tension. These strains exhibited similar growth rates in the exponential growth phase, with a clear acceleration after 24h and... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371647 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371646&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20231089%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jarboui R, Chtourou M, Azri C, Gharsallah N, Ammar E The physico-chemical and microbiological characterizations of olive mill wastewater sludge (OMWS) were investigated in five OMW evaporation ponds of the open-pond system in Sfax (Tunisia), during the olive oil production period in 2004. Time-dependent changes in both physico-chemical parameters and the microbiota were investigated. Mathematical models and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to establish the correlations between the studied parameters. During the effluent time-dependent changes in the ponds, the result of OMWS analysis showed an increase of sludge index (SI), ash content, total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), ethyl acetate extractive (EAE) and total phosphorus (Total P), as well as microbial flora... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371646 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371646 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371645&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20231090%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yang R, Su M, Li M, Zhang J, Hao X, Zhang H A one-pot process combining transesterification and selective hydrogenation was established to produce biodiesel from hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) seed oil which is eliminated as a potential feedstock by a specification of iodine value (IV; 120g I(2)/100g maximum) contained in EN 14214. A series of alkaline earth metal oxides and alkaline earth metal supported copper oxide were prepared and tested as catalysts. SrO supported 10wt.% CuO showed the superior catalytic activity for transesterification with a biodiesel yield of 96% and hydrogenation with a reduced iodine value of 113 and also exhibited a promising selectivity for eliminating methyl linolenate and increasing methyl oleate without rising methyl stearate in the selective hydrog... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371645 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371632&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20231091%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Nowicki P, Pietrzak R Carbonaceous adsorbents from sawdust pellets from coniferous trees (pines) were obtained by CO(2) activation and used as nitrogen dioxide adsorbents. Activation was performed at 800 degrees C for four different periods of time (30, 60, 90 and 120min). The effect of NO(2) adsorption in dry and wet conditions on the sorption ability of the activated samples obtained was tested. The results have shown that NO(2) sorption properties of the activates increase with increasing time of activation and reach maximum for the samples activated for 90min. On the basis of measurements in dry and wet conditions, the presence of water was found to increase the NO(2) breakthrough capacity. The sorption capacity of the adsorbents obtained towards NO(2) was proved to be det... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371632 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371632 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371630&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20231092%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Amaya-Delgado L, Mejía-Castillo T, Santiago-Hernández A, Vega-Estrada J, Amelia FG, Xoconostle-Cázares B, Ruiz-Medrano R, Montes-Horcasitas MD, Hidalgo-Lara ME The Cfl xyn11A gene, encoding the endo-1,4-beta-xylanase Cfl Xyn11A from Cellulomonas flavigena, was isolated from a genomic DNA library. The open reading frame of the Cfl xyn11A gene was 999 base pairs long and encoded a polypeptide (Cfl Xyn11A) of 332 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 35,110Da. The Cfl xyn11A gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant enzyme, with an estimated molecular weight of 31kDa was purified and xylanase activity was measured. Cfl Xyn11A showed optimal activity at pH 6.5 and 55 degrees C. The enzyme demonstrated moderate thermal stability as Cfl Xyn1... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371630 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371630 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371629&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20231093%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Papadopoulos AN, Pougioula G The work described in this paper demonstrated that acetylation of pine wood up to 16.4 weight percent gain has a positive effect on the compression strength. Higher modification levels resulted in a reduction of the compression strength of wood, compared to the untreated wood. A comprehensive investigation of the effect of molecular size of the substituent group of softwood modified with linear chain carboxylic acid anhydrides, namely acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, hexanoic, upon the compression strength has also been performed. It was found that the improvement of compression strength imparted by chemical modification is independent of the degree of bulking of the cell wall, but correlates well with the degree of substitution of the cell wal... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371629 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371629 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371649&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20227874%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Fang L, Huang Q, Wei X, Liang W, Rong X, Chen W, Cai P Equilibrium adsorption experiments, isothermal titration calorimetry and potentiometric titration techniques were employed to investigate the adsorption of Cu(II) by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extracted from Pseudomonas putida X4, minerals (montmorillonite and goethite) and their composites. Compared with predicted values of Cu(II) adsorption on composites, the measured values of Cu(II) on EPS-montmorillonite composite increased, however, those on EPS-goethite composite decreased. Potentiometric titration results also showed that more surface sites were observed on EPS-montmorillonite composite and less reactive sites were found on EPS-goethite composite. The adsorption of Cu(II) on EPS molecules and their co... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371649 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371671&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20227273%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Menon V, Prakash G, Prabhune A, Rao M A hydrolysis of 62% and 50% for OSX (Oat spelt xylan) and WBH (Wheat bran hemicellulose) were obtained in 36h and 48h using Accellerase 1000 at 50 degrees C wherein thermostable xylanase from alkalothermophilic Thermomonospora sp. yielded 67% (OSX) in 3h and 58% (WBH) in 24h at 60 degrees C, favouring a reduction in process time and enzyme dosage. The rate of hydrolysis with thermostable xylanase was increased by 20% with the addition of nonionic surfactant tween 80 or biosurfactant sophorolipid. The simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of OSX and WBH using thermostable xylanase and D. hansenii in batch cultures produced 9.1g/L and 9.5g/L of ethanol, respectively and had a shorter overall process time than the separate hydr... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371671 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371665&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20227274%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Pfister DP, Larock RC Novel "green composites" have been prepared using a conjugated soybean oil-based resin and corn stover as a natural fiber. Corn stover is the residue remaining after grain harvest and it is estimated that approximately 75million tons are available annually in the United States. The effect of the amount of filler, the length of the fiber, and the amount of the crosslinker on the structure and thermal and mechanical properties of the composites has been determined using Soxhlet extraction analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, and tensile testing. Increasing the amount of corn stover and decreasing the length of the fiber results in significant improvements in the mechanical properties of the composites. The Young's moduli and te... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371665 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371651&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20227275%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Li X, Liu Y, Zeng G, Niu Y, Xiao X, Xu W, Xia W, Zhu Y, Liu J A bioelectrical reactor without cation-specific membrane was designed to test effects of direct electrical current on growth of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans bacterium. The results indicated that the cell significantly enhanced the growth of T. ferrooxidans. At a current of 30mA, the maximum cells density reached 1.39x10(9)cells/mL within 84h, which was 10 times faster than under a conventional cultivation method, in which electrical current is not used. A lag phase during the growth of T. ferrooxidans was observed when direct electrical current was applied, and the lag phase became longer under higher current intensity. PMID: 20227275 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioresource Technology) Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371651 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371674&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20226655%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lin Q, Donghui W, Jianlong W The performance of pyridine degradation by Paracoccus sp. strain KT-5 immobilized on bamboo-based activated carbon was investigated and compared with that of free cells. The results showed that Paracoccus sp. was able to attach well on the surface and pores of bamboo-carbon. Compared with freely suspended cells, the pyridine-degrading rate of the immobilized cells was higher when initial pyridine concentration was in the range of 489-1476mg/L, suggesting that the efficiency of pyridine degradation by Paracoccus sp. strain KT-5 was enhanced significantly by immobilization technique. Additionally, the attached biomass on the bamboo-carbon increased from 391.9 to 430-500mg/g during pyridine degradation. Furthermore, the semi-continuous degradation of ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371674 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371673&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20226656%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zhang SY, Cao JP, Takarada T During low temperature gasification process of livestock manure, combustion of manure char feedbacks energy for the gasification reactions. The purpose of the present study is to determine the effect of mineral matters on the reactivity of manure char. The chars were prepared from pig and hen composts pretreated by different washing methods. The results show that the oxidation behavior of the manure char is affected greatly by the pretreatment process employed. Oxidation reactivity of the char from raw manure is much higher than that from de-mineralized manure sample. A good correlation between char reactivity and ash content was obtained. The difference in the char reactivities should be attributed to the presence of catalytically active inorganic... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371673 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371672&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20226657%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Liao Q, Wang YJ, Wang YZ, Zhu X, Tian X, Li J The application of immobilized-cell technology in photobioreactor for hydrogen production could offer improvements in photo-hydrogen production rate and light utilization efficiency. Indigenous Rhodopseudomonas palustris CQK 01 was attached to the surface of a cover glass slide in a flat-panel photobioreactor, to form biofilm under illumination with a range of intensities and wavelengths. The morphology and structure of mature photosynthetic bacterial (PSB) biofilm were determined to elucidate the relationship between biofilm formation and hydrogen production performance. The effects of operation conditions on hydrogen production performance of the biofilms formed under various illumination conditions were experimentally investigat... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371672 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3371672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362700&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20223652%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Farooq U, Kozinski JA, Khan MA, Athar M Conventional technologies for the removal/remediation of toxic metal ions from wastewaters are proving expensive due to non-regenerable materials used and high costs. Biosorption is emerging as a technique offering the use of economical alternate biological materials for the purpose. Functional groups like carboxyl, hydroxyl, sulphydryl and amido present in these biomaterials, make it possible for them to attach metal ions from waters. Every year, large amounts of straw and bran from Triticum aestivum (wheat), a major food crop of the world, are produced as by-products/waste materials. The purpose of this article is to review rather scattered information on the utilization of straw and bran for the removal/minimization of metal ions from... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362700 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362700 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362699&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20223653%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Li AN, Yu K, Liu HQ, Zhang J, Li H, Li DC Two chitinase genes, Tachit1 from Thermoascus aurantiacus var. levisporus and Ctchit1 from Chaetomium thermophilum were isolated. Tachit1 and Ctchit1 encode putative single-domain proteins (TaCHIT1 and CtCHIT1) of 399 and 402 amino acid residues, respectively. The catalytic domains of TaCHIT1 and CtCHIT1 are similar to those of other fungal chitinases in family 18 of glycosyl hydrolases. TaCHIT1 and CtCHIT1 have a molecular weight of about 48.4 and 47.3kDa, respectively when produced in recombinant Pichia pastoris. The enzymes exhibited optimum catalytic activity at pH 8.0 and 50 degrees C for TaCHIT1 and at pH 5.5 and 60 degrees C for CtCHIT1. TaCHIT1 retained 95.3% of its activity after 60min at 50 degrees C. CtCHIT1 was stable at 50... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362699 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362699 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362698&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20223654%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee JM, Jameel H, Venditti RA Two distinct pretreatment technologies, autohydrolysis and AFEX, have been applied to coastal Bermuda grass (CBG) followed by enzymatic hydrolysis in order to compare the effects of pretreatment on the subsequent sugar generation. Furthermore, the influence of structural features from each pretreatment on biomass digestibility was characterized with SEM, ATR-FTIR, and XRD. Enzymatic conversion of pretreated solids from the pretreatments increased with elevated temperature and longer residence times. AFEX pretreatment at 100 degrees C for 30min produced a sugar yield of 94.8% of theoretical possible with 30FPU/g enzymatic loading, the maximum achieved with AFEX. It was also shown that with autohydrolysis at 170 degrees C for 60min that 55.4% sugar ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362698 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362698 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362697&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20223655%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we present compositional variability of distillers' grains collected from four different dry grind ethanol plants and its effect on enzymatic digestibility and fermentability. We then selected two sources of distillers grains based on their distinctive compositional difference. These were pretreated by either controlled pH liquid hot water (LHW) or ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX) and subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. Fermentation of the pretreated distillers' grains using either industrial yeast or genetically engineered glucose and xylose co-fermenting yeast, yielded 70-80% of theoretical maximum ethanol concentration, which varied depending on the batch of distillers' grains used. Results show that cellulose conversion and ethanol fermentation yields are a... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362697 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362697 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362696&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20223656%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Tan HT, Lee KT, Mohamed AR Recently, second-generation bio-ethanol (SGB), which utilizes readily available lignocellulosic biomass has received much interest as another potential source of liquid biofuel comparable to biodiesel. Thus the aim of this paper is to determine the exergy efficiency and to compare the effectiveness of SGB and palm methyl ester (PME) processes. It was found that the production of bio-ethanol is more thermodynamically sustainable than that of biodiesel as the net exergy value (NExV) of SGB is 10% higher than that of PME. Contrarily, the former has a net energy value (NEV) which is 9% lower than the latter. Despite this, SGB is still strongly recommended as a potential biofuel because SGB production can help mitigate several detrimental impacts on the e... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362696 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362696 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362695&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20223657%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Srikanth S, Venkata Mohan S, Sarma PN Positive influence of poised potential on microbial fuel cell (MFC) performance was observed with increase in the applied potential up to 600mV and decreased thereafter. Higher power output (79.33mW/m(2)) was observed at 600mV poised potential under open circuit operation (OC). Closed circuit operation (CC) showed almost negligible power output due to continuous electron discharge against an external load (100Omega). However, CC operation resulted in the higher substrate (chemical oxygen demand (COD)) degradation [61.23% (control); 70.46% (OC; 600mV); 74.15% (CC; 600mV)] and total dissolved solids (TDS) removal [29.17% (control); 43.75% (OC; 600mV); 72.92% (CC; 600mV)] efficiencies compared to OC. Electron discharge and energy conversion e... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362695 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362695 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362694&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20223658%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yazdanpanah F, Sokhansanj S, Lau AK, Lim CJ, Bi X, Melin S, Afzal M Broken pellets and fines are produced when pellets are handled. The resistance to air flow was measured for clean pellets and for pellets mixed with 1-20% broken pellets (fines). A pellet diameter was 6mm. The lengths ranged from 6 to 12mm. Clean pellets were defined as particles that remained on a 4mm screen. A typical sieve analysis showed 30% of the mass of particles that passed through the 4mm screen was smaller than 1mm. The airflow rates used in the experiment ranged from 0.004 to 0.357ms(-1). The corresponding pressure drop ranged from 1.9 to 271Pam(-1) for clean pellets, from 4.8 to 1100Pam(-1) for 10% fines content, and from 7.9 to 1800Pam(-1) for 20% fines content. Coefficients of Hukill and Ives' eq... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362694 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362714&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219353%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Shu Q, Nawaz Z, Gao J, Liao Y, Zhang Q, Wang D, Wang J A solid acid catalyst that can keep high activity and stability is necessary when low cost feedstocks are utilized for biodiesel synthesis because the reaction medium contains a large amount of water. Three solid acid catalysts were prepared by the sulfonation of carbonized vegetable oil asphalt and petroleum asphalt. The structure of these catalysts was characterized by a variety of techniques. A new process that used the coupling of the reaction and separation was employed, which greatly improved the conversion of cottonseed oil (triglyceride) and free fatty acids (FFA) when a model waste oil feedstock was used. The vegetable oil asphalt-based catalyst showed the highest catalytic activity. This was due to the high densi... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362714 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362714 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362713&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219354%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wang A, Sun D, Ren N, Liu C, Liu W, Logan BE, Wu WM A rapid selection method was developed to enrich for a stable and efficient anodophilic consortium (AC) for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). A biofilm sample from a microbial electrolysis cell was serially diluted up to 10(-9) in anaerobic phosphate buffer solution and incubated in an Fe(III)-acetate medium, and an Fe(III)-reducing AC was obtained for dilutions up to 10(-6). The activity of MFC inoculated with the enrichment AC was compared with those inoculated with original biofilm or activated sludge. The power densities and Coulombic efficiencies of the AC (226mW/m(2), 34%) were higher than those of the original biofilm (209mW/m(2), 23%) and activated sludge (192mW/m(2), 19%). The start-up period of the AC (60h) was also shor... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362713 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362713 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362712&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219355%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Choi SP, Nguyen MT, Sim SJ The production of ethanol from feedstock other than agriculture materials has been promoted in recent years. Some microalgae can accumulate a high starch content (about 44% of dry base) via photosynthesis. Algal biomass, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii UTEX 90, was converted into a suitable fermentable feedstock by two commercial hydrolytic enzymes. The results showed that almost all starch was released and converted into glucose without steps for the cell wall disruption. Various conditions in the liquefaction and saccharification processes, such as enzyme concentration, pH, temperature, and residence time, have been investigated to obtain an optimum combination using the orthogonal analysis. As a result, approximately 235mg of ethanol was produced from 1... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362712 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362712 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362711&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219356%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Godos ID, Vargas VA, Blanco S, González MC, Soto R, García-Encina PA, Becares E, Muñoz R Two green microalgae (Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella sorokiniana), one cyanobacterium (Spirulina platensis), one euglenophyt (Euglena viridis) and two microalgae consortia were evaluated for their ability to support carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous removal in symbiosis with activated sludge bacteria during the biodegradation of four and eight times diluted piggery wastewater in batch tests. C. sorokiniana and E. viridis were capable of supporting the biodegradation of four and eight times diluted wastewater. On the other hand, while S. obliquus and the consortia isolated from a swine manure stabilization pond were only able to grow in eight times diluted wastewater, S. p... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362711 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362711 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362710&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219357%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Luo S, Xiao B, Xiao L A novel MSW shredder was presented but many aspects of the shredder have not been fully characterized. The feed moisture is an important factor that influences crushing performance. This paper focuses on the effect of feed moisture. The breakage of municipal solid waste (MSW) at several moisture levels (0%, 10%, 20%, 40% and 60%) was conducted with a laboratory shredder to investigate the effect of feed moisture on product size distribution and specific energy consumption under two different hydraulic pressures (40 and 60kg/cm(2)). The results showed definite effects of feed moisture on the product size distribution and specific energy consumption: there is a tendency for the fine production in products to decrease with increasing amounts of water content... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362710 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362710 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362709&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219358%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Li C, Rodríguez LF, Khanna M, Spaulding AD, Lin T, Eckhoff SR An engineering economic model, which is mass balanced and compositionally driven, was developed to compare the conventional corn dry-grind process and the pre-fractionation process called "Quick germ/Quick fiber". For the purposes of this model, the distillers dried grains with solubles price was correlated to its protein and fiber composition and the long-term average relationship with the corn price. This paper has been prepared to describe the development of the model and provide documentation for its use. This model can be used to provide decision support for ethanol producers considering the new emerging technologies that may provide sustainability to the business of ethanol production from corn. PMID:... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362709 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362709 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362708&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219359%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wang Z, Wang Y, Yang ST, Wang R, Ren H A new support matrix inspired by honeycomb was developed for cell immobilization to control fungal morphology and enhance mass transfer in bioreactor for lactic acid production by Rhizopus oryzae. The immobilization matrix composed of asterisk-shaped fibrous matrices in a honeycomb configuration provided high surface areas for cell attachment and biofilm growth. More than 90% of inoculated spores were adsorbed onto the matrices within 6-8h and after 10h there was no suspended cell in the fermentation broth, indicating a 100% immobilization efficiency. Compared to free-cell fermentation, lactic acid production increased approximately 70% (49.5g/L vs. 29.3g/L) and fermentation time reduced 33% (48h vs. 72h) in shake-flasks with 80g/L initia... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362708 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362708 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362707&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219360%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Banerjee A, Ghoshal AK The microbial degradation of phenol by pure cultures Bacillus cereus MTCC 9817 strain AKG1 and B. cereus MTCC 9818 strain AKG2 is studied in batch mode for several initial concentrations of phenol in the range of 100-2000mg/L with an interval of 100mg/L. Degradation pathways are investigated at initial phenol concentrations of 100, 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000mg/L. The bacteria are able to degrade phenol of concentration as high as 2000mg/L. The maximum degradation rate is obtained at an initial phenol concentration of about 800mg/L for the strain AKG1 and about 200mg/L for the strain AKG2. Both the strains degrade phenol via meta-cleavage pathway through formation of 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde (2-HMSA) as an intermediate product. Modeling of the biodegr... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362707 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362707 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362706&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219361%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Karthikeyan A, Sivakumar N The growing demand for citric acid and the current need for alternative sources have encouraged biotechnologists to search for novel and economical substrates. Koji fermentation was conducted using the peels of banana (Musa acuminata) as an inexpensive substrate for the production of citric acid using Aspergillus niger. Various crucial parameters that affect citric acid production such as moisture content, temperature, pH, inoculum level and incubation time were quantified. Moisture (70%), 28 degrees C temperature, an initial pH 3, 10(8) spores/ml as inoculum and 72h incubation was found to be suitable for maximum citric acid production by A. niger using banana peel as a substrate. PMID: 20219361 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biore... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362706 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362705&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219362%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Thanh LT, Okitsu K, Sadanaga Y, Takenaka N, Maeda Y, Bandow H A transesterification reaction of waste cooking oils (WCO) with methanol in the presence of a potassium hydroxide catalyst was performed in a continuous ultrasonic reactor of low-frequency 20kHz with input capacity of 1kW, in a two-step process. For the first step, the transesterification was carried out with the molar ratio of methanol to WCO of 2.5:1, and the amount of catalyst 0.7wt.%. The yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) was about 81%. A yield of FAME of around 99% was attained in the second step with the molar ratio of methanol to initial WCO of 1.5:1, and the amount of catalyst 0.3wt.%. The FAME yield was extremely high even at the short residence time of the reactants in the ultrasonic reactor (less t... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362705 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362705 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362704&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219363%26dopt%3DAbstract The objective of this research was to evaluate the chemical composition, microstructure, and antioxidant capacity of king palm flour obtained from residues from organic king palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae) processing. King palm flour exhibited high levels of dietary fibre (70.85%) and total ash (3.27%); low contents of protein (3.51%) and lipid (0.91%). Iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium contents were 7.31, 517.03, 801.33 and 1041.95mg/100g, respectively. The high concentration of glucose, xylose and arabinose suggests the presence of some polysaccharides, such as cellulose and hemicelluloses (xyloglucans and arabinoxylans). Methanol and aqueous extracts of king palm flour showed 1.27 and 0.95mg/g (Gallic Acid Equivalents) of total polyphenols, respectively. Methanol extract yielded ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362704 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362703&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219364%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Nlewem KC, Thrash ME Three different pretreatment methods for switchgrass were studied. Aqueous sodium hydroxide (0.5-10% w/v, 90 degrees C, 1h), dilute H(2)SO(4) (0.5-6.0% v/v, 121 degrees C, 1h) and hot water (100 degrees C, 1h) were employed in this study to determine how each method affected the digestibility of switchgrass during enzymatic hydrolysis. Switchgrass pre-treated with 0.5% w/v sodium hydroxide generally produced glucose in higher concentrations than sulfuric acid and hot water pre-treated samples. SEM studies on the pre-treated samples revealed a great deal of pore formation in the NaOH pre-treated samples and little or no physical changes on the acid and hot water pre-treated samples. Lignin analysis carried out on the pre-treated samples showed a considerabl... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362703 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362702&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219365%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Padmavathiamma PK, Li LY Studies were conducted to determine the best management practice for immobilisation of toxic Pb and Mn in soil and the interaction of these metal contaminants with the associated plants. The research protocol comprises addition of soil amendments to accelerate physico-chemically driven sorption processes and growth of appropriate plant species to reduce physiologically driven uptake of Pb and Mn. Lolium perenne L (perennial rye grass), Festuca rubra L (creeping red fescue) and Poa pratensis L (Kentucky blue grass) were tested in the presence of soil amendments (lime, phosphate and compost, both individually and in combination). The effectiveness of treatments in stabilizing metals was assessed on the basis of metal speciation in soil, partitioning of m... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362702 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362701&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20219366%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zhu HY, Jiang R, Xiao L, Zeng GM A novel magnetic composite bioadsorbent composed of chitosan wrapping magnetic nanosized gamma-Fe(2)O(3) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (m-CS/gamma-Fe(2)O(3)/MWCNTs) was prepared under relative mild conditions and was characterized. Adsorption of methyl orange (MO) onto m-CS/gamma-Fe(2)O(3)/MWCNTs was investigated with respect to pH, initial MO concentration, coexisting anions and temperature. Results of characterizations indicated that magnetic nanosized gamma-Fe(2)O(3) and MWCNTs have been wrapped by crosslinked chitosan. Introduction of MWCNTs could obviously increase the adsorption capacity (q(e)) of MO onto bioadsorbent by 2.2 times. Kinetics data and adsorption isotherm were better fitted by pseudo-second-order kinetic model and by Lan... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362701 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3362701 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347259&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20207536%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rodríguez LF, Li C, Khanna M, Spaulding AD, Lin T, Eckhoff SR An engineering economic model, which is mass balanced and compositionally driven, was developed to compare the conventional corn dry-grind process and the pre-fractionation process called quick germ-quick fiber (QQ). In this model, documented in a companion article, the distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) price was linked with its protein and fiber content as well as with the long-term average relationship with the corn price. The detailed economic analysis showed that the QQ plant retrofitted from conventional dry-grind ethanol plant reduces the manufacturing cost of ethanol by 13.5 cent/gallon and has net present value of nearly $4 million greater than the conventional dry-grind plant at an interest ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347259 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347261&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20207134%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Santacruz-Reyes RA, Chien YH Extract of a desert plant, Yuccaschidigera (YUPE) at 0mgL(-1) (control), 18, 36 and 72mgL(-1) was added to seawater containing 30, 50 and 100 Kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeusjaponicus postlarvae (PL) per liter with or without aeration for 24h to study its effects on reducing ammonia excreted from the PL. Even at the lowest YUPE addition level and the highest PL density, no ammonia accumulated in both aerated and no-aerated set-ups for up to 12h. Ammonia accumulated only in the controls. YUPE showed more effective in reducing ammonia in seawater from this biogenic source than ammonia from chemical source used in previous studies. Consequently, YUPE is identified as a natural, safe, and effective solution for ammonia reduction in seawater and mariculture. ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347261 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347261 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347260&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20207135%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yang X, Zeng Y, Ma F, Zhang X, Yu H The thermogravimetric and chemical characterization of corn stover biopretreated by three different species of white-rot fungi have been studied in this research. Results indicated that biopretreatment can optimize the thermal decomposition, decrease the reaction temperature and reduce the gas contamination (SO(x)), making the biomass pyrolysis more efficient and environmentally friendly. Biopretreatment can decrease the activation energy and reacting temperature of the hemicellulose and cellulose pyrolysis (up to 36 degrees C), shorten the temperature range of the active pyrolysis (up to 14 degrees C), and increase the thermal decomposition rate, greatly promoting the reaction and making the biomass pyrolysis easier to start and carry on. O... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347260 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347275&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206499%26dopt%3DAbstract This study provided useful information for understanding of the cellulose hydrolysis mechanism of this cellulolytic bacterium with potential industrial importance. PMID: 20206499 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioresource Technology) Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347275 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347274&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206500%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, a denitrifying culture was enriched in a continuously re-circulated anoxic suspension reactor fed with glucose and nitrate for about 8months (stage I) under different organic loading rates (OLR). At the end of stage I, the removal efficiency for NO(3)(-)-N was 80% with 93% COD (5g/l) removal at an OLR of 2.5g/ld. The mean COD/N removal ratio during the whole enrichment was 3.3. The response to phenol as a toxic substance on glucose enriched culture for long time period was investigated by introducing phenol as a co-substrate in the reactor feed in stage II. Phenol was increased gradually to 753mg/l till termination of the reactor operation. After increasing the OLR or the phenol concentration, fluctuations in removal efficiencies were observed which were partly reversible. A... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347274 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347273&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206501%26dopt%3DAbstract We report a strategy for simultaneous extraction of protein with food-grade biobased solvents (ethyl lactate, d-limonene, and distilled methyl esters) and enzymatic saccharification of glucan in DGS. This approach would produce a high-value animal feed while simultaneously producing additional sugars for ethanol production. Preliminary experiments on protein extraction resulted in recovery of 15-45% of the protein, with hydrophobic biobased solvents obtaining the best results. The integrated hydrolysis and extraction experiments showed that biobased solvent addition did not inhibit hydrolysis of the cellulose. However, only 25-33% of the total protein was extracted from DGS, and the extracted protein largely resided in the aqueous phase, not the solvent phase. We hypothesize that the hydro... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347273 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347272&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206502%26dopt%3DAbstract The objective of this paper is to develop efficient technologies for harvesting of algal biomass using membrane filtration. Foulants were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Anti-fouling strategies were established, such as using air-assisted backwash with air scouring, and optimizing operational conditions. A model was also developed to predict the flux decline and final concentration based on a resistance-in-series analysis and a cake development calculation. The results showed that the buildup of the algal cake layer and adsorption of algogenic organic matter (AOM) (mainly protein, polysaccharides or polysaccharide-like substances) on the membrane caused membrane fouling. The cake layer buildup was removed by conduct... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347272 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347272 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347271&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206503%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, a new approach for predicting these phenomena was proposed based on the estimation of the putrescibility (oxygen consumption in 20h biodegradation, OD(20)) of the organic mixtures undergoing the HSAD process. Different wastes exhibiting different putrescibility were subjected to lab-scale batch-HSAD. Measuring the organic loading (OL) as volatile solids (VS) was found unsuitable for predicting overload inhibition, because similar VS contents corresponded to both inhibited and successful trials. Instead, the OL calculated as OD(20) was a very good indicator of the inhibiting conditions (inhibition started for OD(20)>17-18gO(2)kg(-1)). This new method of predicting inhibition in the HSAD process of diverse OFMSW may be useful for developing a correct approach to the technol... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347271 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347270&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206504%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Nien PC, Wang JY, Chen PY, Chen LC, Ho KC A modified electrode was proposed based on the sequential coating to immobilize both p-benzoquinone (BZQ) and glucose oxidase (GOD). Three electrodes, A, B, and C, were prepared separately by drop-coating the BZQ solution dissolved in different solvents on the stainless-steel/carbon (ssteel/C). Among those three electrodes, electrode B shows the best sensitivity of 2.21mAM(-1)cm(-2), a linear concentration range of 1.1-15mM and a response time of 100 s at a sensing potential of 0.3V. The responses of interferences, including ascorbic acid, dopamine, uric acid and acetaminophen, were approximately 0%, 1.4%, approximately 0% and 3%, respectively, taken the sensing current at 6.0mM glucose as 100%. In a test of the human blood sample, an ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347270 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347270 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347269&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206505%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gnansounou E, Dauriat A Lignocellulosic ethanol is expected to be commercialised during the next decade as renewable energy for transport. Competiveness with first generation bioethanol and with gasoline is commonly considered in techno-economic analyses for commercial stage. Several existing reviews conclude about the high spread of current and projected production costs of lignocellulosic ethanol due to the significant differences in assumptions concerning the following factors: composition and cost of feedstock, process design, conversion efficiency, valorisation of co-products, and energy conservation. Focusing on the studies in the United States of America and in Europe, the present review investigates the different natures of the techno-economic evaluations during the de... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347269 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347269 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347268&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206506%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chen D, Guo Y, Huang R, Lu Q, Huang J Sugarcane bagasse was treated with ultra-high pressure explosion (UHPE) in a homogenizer. UHPE significantly decreased the particle size and disrupt the microstructure of bagasse, which was changed from a rigid and highly ordered fibril to a distorted, poly-porous and "empty-inside" structure. UHPE decreased the crystallinity indexes (CrIs) from 54.8% (0MPa) to 45.3% (100MPa), and increased the accessible surface area (ASA) of bagasse nearly 3-fold. The effect of UHPE on composition was minor, only decreased the lignin slightly. However, UHPE increased enzymatic digestibility substantially from 29.5% (0MPa) to 59.4% (100MPa), and the microstructure disruption and thereby ASA increase were found to be the major factors to enhance the digest... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347268 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347268 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347267&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206507%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Liu H, Liu D, Yao F, Wu Q Nano-sized cellulose crystals were fabricated from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) using combined sulfuric acid hydrolysis and high-pressure homogenization techniques. The crystals were then utilized to prepare polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) nanocomposites by the solution casting method. The cellulose nanocrystals had diameters from about 8 to 10nm and lengths in the range of 60-120nm. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD) results on the freeze-dried crystals revealed a slight increase in the degree of crystallinity after acid treatment. The composite sheets retained good transparency due to the size effect and dispersion of the cellulose nanocrystals. The thermogravimetric analysis indicated retained thermal stability of the composites. The storage mod... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347267 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347267 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347266&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206508%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Xu J, Jiang J, Chen J, Sun Y The catalytic cracking reactions of several kinds of woody oils have been studied. The products were analyzed by GC-MS and FTIR and show the formation of olefins, paraffins and carboxylic acids. Several kinds of catalysts were compared. It was found that the fraction distribution of product was modified by using base catalysts such as CaO. The products from woody oils showed good cold flow properties compared with diesel used in China. The results presented in this work have shown that the catalytic cracking of woody oils generates fuels that have physical and chemical properties comparable to those specified for petroleum based fuels. PMID: 20206508 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioresource Technology) Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347266 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347266 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347265&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206509%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we produced BC from dairy manures by heating at low temperatures (500 degrees C) and under abundant air condition. The resultant BC was characterized for physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties specifically related to its potential use in remediation. The BC from all manures behaved similarly. Surface area, ash content, and pH of the BC increased as temperature increased, while yield decreased with increasing temperature. The BC was rich in mineral elements such as N, Ca, Mg, and P in addition to C, and concentrations of C and N decreased with increasing temperature as a result of combustion and volatilization; while P, Ca, and Mg increased as temperature increased. For example, C significantly decreased from 36.8% at 100 degrees C to 1.67% at 500 degrees C; whereas... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347265 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347264&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206510%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we examined the toxicity of THF at different concentrations (0-320mM) on the microbial community in activated sludge. A remarkable dose-dependent decrease in the total organic compound removal rate and culturable bacteria and fungi was observed. At THF concentrations higher than 160mM, a decrease in pH to 3.0 was observed. The activities of five enzymes (catalase, dehydrogenase, urease, phosphatase and protease) analyzed were all significantly inhibited (p<0.01) at THF concentrations higher than 160mM, especially dehydrogenase activity, which lost 95.4% of its activity at 320mM THF. Microbial community analysis by PCR-DGGE revealed a substantial shift in the community structure and a reduction in diversity at a low THF concentration (20mM). These results suggest that THF ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347264 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347264 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347263&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206511%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Benbelkacem H, Bayard R, Abdelhay A, Zhang Y, Gourdon R Three pilots simulated landfill bioreactors were used to investigate the effect of leachate injection modes on anaerobic digestion and biogas production from municipal solid waste. The technical modes used to increase waste moisture consisted of an initial saturation of the waste by flushing with leachate followed by a quick drainage, or weekly leachate injections with two different rates. The results confirmed that increasing moisture content is a key parameter to boost the biological reactions. Weekly leachate injection with high flow rate led to better results than the initial saturation of the waste in terms of biogas production kinetics. Water percolation was found to be an important factor to accelerate the degradat... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347263 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3347262&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20206512%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Molinuevo-Salces B, García-González MC, González-Fernández C The purpose of the study was comparison of two configurations of photobioreactors an open-type photobioreactor open to atmosphere and a tubular type photobioreactor closed to the atmosphere. Organic matter was fairly removed under both configurations at 50-60% and biomass carbon content on dry weight basis accounted for 45%. Both configurations were able to completely exhaust ammonium, however different mechanism removals were responsible for the different influent loads applied. In terms of nitrogen recovery by biomass assimilation, the open configuration ranged 38-47% whereas the closed type presented 31%. It is worth to mention that nitrification-denitrification was taking place under both phot... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3347262 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3347262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340025&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202826%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, some key factors, for example, diluted ratio of effluents, the ratio of dark-photo bacteria, light intensity and light/dark cycle influencing hydrogen production by combining Clostridium butyricum and immobilized Rhodopseudomonas faecalis RLD-53 in batch culture, were investigated. Experimental results showed the photo-hydrogen yield decreased when increasing diluted ratio from 1:0.5 to 1:3, and it reached the maximum value of 4368ml-H(2)/l-effluents at the ratio of 1:0.5. When the ratio of dark-photo bacteria was at 1:2, the hydrogen yield reached highest value of 4.946mol-H(2)/mol-glucose and cumulative hydrogen volume was 5357ml-H(2)/l-culture during the combination process. When the light intensity was at 10.25W/m(2), the hydrogen volume of photo-fermentation and the com... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340025 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340025 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340021&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202830%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zhao B, He YL, Hughes J, Zhang XF Strain HNR, isolated from a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR), demonstrates a surprising ability to convert ammonium to nitrogen gas under aerobic conditions while growing heterotrophically. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence, strain HNR was related to Acinetobacter calcoaceticus (98.9% identity). Nitrogen balance during heterotrophic growth with 120mg/l of NH(4)(+)-N showed that 40.2% of NH(4)(+)-N was in the form of N(2) and 52.1% was found in biomass. Only a trace production was either nitrite or nitrate. Further tests demonstrated that nitrite and nitrate were not reduced by strain HNR under aerobic conditions. Neither nitrate reductase (NR) nor nitrite reductase (NiR) activity was detectable in the aerobic reactio... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340021 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340021 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340026&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202825%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, the natural and modified rice husk were tested to remove Cd(II) ions from water. The modified rice husk was prepared by being treated with alkali. The results showed the Cd(II) adsorption capacity was 73.96, 125.94mg/g, respectively, for the natural and modified rice husk. The modified rice husk had faster kinetics and higher adsorption capacities than the natural rice husk, which can be attributed to the surface structural changes of the material. Equilibrium adsorption data are more consistent with the Langmuir isotherm equation than with the Freundlich equation. The Cd(II) adsorption on the two adsorbents tends to increase with the increase of pH. The optimum pH for Cd(II) adsorption is 6.5. Both pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations were able to describe p... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340026 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340024&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202827%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Xin L, Hong-Ying H, Ke G, Ying-Xue S Microalgae have high potential to remove inorganic nutrients from wastewater and to produce biodiesel. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations on growth, nutrient uptake, and lipid accumulation of a freshwater microalga Scenedesmus sp. LX1 were studied. Scenedesmus sp. LX1's growth was in accordance with the Monod model. The following Monod parameters were obtained: the N- and P-saturated maximum growth rate was 2.21x10(6)cellsmL(-1)d(-1), and the half-saturation constants of N and P uptake were 12.1mgL(-1) and 0.27mgL(-1), respectively. In the nitrogen/phosphorus ratio of 5:1-12:1, 83-99% nitrogen and 99% phosphorus could be removed. In conditions of nitrogen (2.5mgL(-1)) or phosphorus (0.1mgL(-1)) limitation, Scenedesmus sp. LX1... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340024 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340024 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340023&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202828%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mezzomo N, Mileo BR, Friedrich MT, Martínez J, Ferreira SR Peach kernels are industrial residues from the peach processing, contain oil with important therapeutic properties and attractive nutritional aspects because of the high concentration of oleic and linoleic acids. The extraction method used to obtain natural compounds from raw matter is critical for product quality definition. Thus, the aim of this work was to compare peach almond extraction yields obtained by different procedures: soxhlet extractions (Sox) with different solvents; hydrodistillation (HD); ethanolic maceration (Mac) followed by fractionation with various solvents, and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) at 30, 40 and 50 degrees C and at 100, 200 and 300bar, performed with pure CO(2) and with a co-s... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340023 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340023 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340022&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202829%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Pei Y, Yang Z, Tian B A riparian wetland (RW) was constructed in a river bend to study the effect of the addition of Bacillus subtilis FY99-01 on nitrate removal. Nitrate was removed more efficiently in the summer than in the winter owing to integrated hydraulic, microbial and environmental effects. The maximal nitrate removal and the mean nitrate loss rate in the RW were 36.1% and 50.5g/m(2)/yr, respectively. Statistic analyses indicated that the redox potential was very significant to denitrification while organic matter in the outflow, temperature and nitrate in the inflow significantly affected nitrate removal. These results suggest that an RW can be a cost-effective approach to enhance microbial nitrate removal and can potentially be extended to similar river bends. P... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340022 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340022 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340020&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202832%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wang C, Yang F, Meng F, Zhang H, Xue Y, Fu G To prepare a high flux and antifouling filtration membrane used for submerged membrane bioreactors, non-woven fabric (NWF) was modified by coating chitosan (CS) on both internal and outer surface. Chemical structural and morphological changes were characterized. The changes of surface free energy were monitored by dynamic contact angle, which showed an increase after modification. The CS/NWF composite membranes were found to be with high flux, high effluent quality and excellent antifouling property. The results of fouling resistance distribution indicated that irreversible fouling resistance was decreased by coating CS. Especially, there were fewer gel layers existing on the outer surface. The adsorption of EPS on the NWF membrane ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340020 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340020 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340019&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202833%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Reeve JR, Carpenter-Boggs L, Reganold JP, York AL, Brinton WF Biodynamic (BD) agriculture, a form of organic agriculture, includes the use of specially fermented preparations, but peer-reviewed studies on their efficacy are rare. Composting of a grape pomace and manure mixture was studied in two years (2002 and 2005) with and without the BD compost preparations. Water extracts of finished composts were then used to fertigate wheat seedlings, with and without added inorganic fertilizer. BD-treated mixtures had significantly greater dehydrogenase activity than did untreated (control) mixtures during composting, suggesting greater microbial activity in BD-treated compost. In both years there was a distinct compost effect on wheat shoot and root biomass irrespective of supplementa... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340019 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340019 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340018&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202834%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Digman MF, Shinners KJ, Casler MD, Dien BS, Hatfield RD, Jung HJ, Muck RE, Weimer PJ Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) were pretreated under ambient temperature and pressure with sulfuric acid and calcium hydroxide in separate experiments. Chemical loadings from 0 to 100g (kg DM)(-1) and durations of anaerobic storage from 0 to 180days were investigated by way of a central composite design at two moisture contents (40% or 60% w.b.). Pretreated and untreated samples were fermented to ethanol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae D5A in the presence of a commercially available cellulase (Celluclast 1.5L) and beta-glucosidase (Novozyme 188). Xylose levels were also measured following fermentation because xylose is not metabolized by S. cerevis... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340018 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340018 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3340017&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20202835%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sun S, An Q, Li X, Qian L, He B, Xiao H Chitosan-guanidine complexes were prepared by reacting chitosan and polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride or crosslinked polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride in the presence of sodium tripolyphosphate as a crosslinking agent. The complexes, used as functional additives for paper, synergistically improved wet-strength and antimicrobial activities. In comparison with the control sample, the wet/dry strength ratio of hand-sheets treated with the complexes was increased from 2.65% up to 23.3%. The MIC values of the chitosan-PHGH and chitosan-PHGHE complexes against Escherichia coli were 15.6 and 31.2mugmL(-1), respectively, thus demonstrating excellent antimicrobial activity. Hand-sheets treated with the complexes exhibited antibact... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3340017 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3340017 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3336164&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20199860%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Liu C, Lu J, Lu L, Liu Y, Wang F, Xiao M A strain of Bacillus licheniformis 8-37-0-1 with high exopolysaccharide (EPS) production ability was isolated and identified based on morphological and physiological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA sequences. A new type of EPS was isolated from the strain fermentation broth by enzymolysis, isopropanol precipitation, anion-exchange, and gel-filtration chromatography. The new EPS was determined as homogeneous, with a molecular weight of 2.826x10(4), as determined by High-Performance Size-Exclusion Chromatography Multi-Angle Laser Light Scattering analysis. Its structural characteristics were investigated and elucidated by methylation analysis, partial acid hydrolysis, gas-liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, Four... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3336164 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3336164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3336163&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20199861%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Teerarak M, Laosinwattana C, Charoenying P Methanolic extracts prepared from dried leaves of Jasminum officinale f. var. grandiflorum (L.) Kob. (Spanish jasmine) inhibited seed germination and stunted both root and shoot length of the weeds Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. and Phaseolus lathyroides L. The main active compound was isolated and determined by spectral data as a secoiridoid glucoside named oleuropein. In addition, a decrease in allelopathic efficacy appeared as the decomposition periods increased. The mitotic index in treated onion root tips decreased with increasing concentrations of the extracts and longer periods of treatment. Likewise, the mitotic phase index was altered in onion incubated with crude extract. Furthermore, crude extract produced mitotic abnor... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3336163 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3336163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3328150&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20194017%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Deniz F, Saygideger SD The biosorption of Acid Orange 52 onto the leaf powder of Paulownia tomentosa Steud. was studied in a batch adsorption system to estimate the equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic parameters as a function of solution pH, biosorbent concentration, dye concentration, biosorbent size, temperature and contact time. The Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models were used for modeling the biosorption equilibrium. The experimental equilibrium data could be well interpreted by the Temkin and Langmuir isotherms with maximum adsorption capacity of 10.5mgg(-1). In order to state the sorption kinetics, the fits of pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models were investigated. It was obtained that the biosorption... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3328150 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3328150 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3328149&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20194018%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Anderson RC, Huwe JK, Smith DJ, Stanton TB, Krueger NA, Callaway TR, Edrington TS, Harvey RB, Nisbet DJ Ruminal methanogenesis is considered a digestive inefficiency that results in the loss of 2-12% of the host's gross energy intake and contributes nearly 20% to the United States annual CH(4) emissions. Presently, the effects of the known CH(4) inhibitor, nitroethane, and two synthetic nitrocompounds, dimethyl-2-nitroglutarate and 2-nitro-methyl-propionate, on ruminal CH(4) production and fermentation were evaluated in vitro. After 24 h incubation at 39 degrees C under 100% CO(2), ruminal fluid cultures treated with 2.97 or 11.88 mumol ml(-1) of the respective nitrocompounds produced > 92% less CH(4) (P < 0.05) than non-treated controls. Quantification of fermentation e... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3328149 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3328149 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3328148&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20194019%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yan F, Luo SY, Hu ZQ, Xiao B, Cheng G Steam gasification experiments of biomass char were carried out in a fixed-bed reactor. The experiments were completed at bed temperature of 600-850 degrees C, a steam flow rate of 0-0.357g/min/g of biomass char, and a reaction time of 15min. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of bed temperature and steam flow rate on syngas yield and its compositions. The results showed that both high gasification temperature and introduction of proper steam led to higher yield of dry gas and higher carbon conversion efficiency. However, excessive steam reduced gas yield and carbon conversion efficiency. The maximum dry gas yield was obtained at the gasification temperature of 850 degrees C and steam flow rate of 0.165g/min/g biomass char. ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3328148 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3328148 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3328147&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20194020%26dopt%3DAbstract This study evaluated oxalic acid as a pretreatment for bioconversion. Overall sugar yields, sugar degradation products, enzymatic glucan hydrolysis and ethanol production were studied as effects of temperature (150-190 degrees C), reaction time (10-40min) and oxalic acid concentration 2-8% (w/w). Time and temperature were combined into a single parameter, Severity Factor (SF) [Log(R(0))], and related to oxalic acid using a response surface methodology. Maximum total sugar yield was attained at a SF of 2.93 and 6.79% (w/w) oxalic acid, while maximum formation of sugar degradation products was observed at the highest SF (4.05) and 5% (w/w) oxalic acid. These were also the conditions for maximum simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of the residual solids. Commercial cellulases... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3328147 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3328147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3328146&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20194021%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gnansounou E Contrary to the case of the United States where a systematic management of the RD&D on lignocellulosic ethanol prevails, in Europe the research works remain fragmented despite the efforts made by the European Union and in few member states. In most of the European countries, sustainable lignocellulosic resources may not be widely available in the future for bioethanol production due to the possible competition between several potential usages. Thus the actual deployment of the lignocellulosic bioethanol in Europe will depend on the opportunity costs of biomass on one side and on the prices of ethanol and gasoline on the other side. While the papers on lignocellulosic ethanol often emphasize technology progress, this review paper also addresses policy measures.... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3328146 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3328146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319855&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189799%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Tapia Y, Cala V, Eymar E, Frutos I, Gárate A, Masaguer A The ability of three composted materials to immobilize cadmium (Cd) was examined in order to assess their potential for recovering soils contaminated with this metal. Composted pine bark (PB) pH 5.6, spent mushroom compost (SM) pH 8.0, and composted pruning waste+biosolids (BS) pH 6.9 (containing 81%, 75% and 47% total organic matter, respectively) were characterized. FT-IR and CP-MAS (13)C NMR spectroscopy indicated the BS and SM to have a higher percentage of aliphatic and carboxyl groups than PB. The composts were artificially contaminated with Cd (80 and 200mgkg(-1)) and, after 4 weeks incubation, subjected to sequential extraction. In column leaching experiments, the total Cd leached from the composts exposed t... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319855 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319854&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189800%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: de Oliveira LL, Costa RB, Okada DY, Vich DV, Duarte IC, Silva EL, Varesche MB Four anaerobic fluidized bed reactors filled with activated carbon (R1), expanded clay (R2), glass beads (R3) and sand (R4) were tested for anaerobic degradation of LAS. All reactors were inoculated with sludge from a UASB reactor treating swine wastewater and were fed with a synthetic substrate supplemented with approximately 20mgl(-1) of LAS, on average. To 560mgl(-1) COD influent, the maximum COD and LAS removal efficiencies were mean values of 97+/-2% and 99+/-2%, respectively, to all reactors demonstrating the potential applicability of this reactor configuration for treating LAS. The reactors were kept at 30 degrees C and operated with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 18h. The use of glass b... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319854 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319854 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319853&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189801%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sultana A, Kumar A, Harfield D Minimum production cost and optimum plant size were determined for pellet plants using agricultural biomass residue from wheat, barley and oats. Three scenarios involving minimum, average and maximum yields of straw were considered for developing a techno-economic model. The life cycle cost of producing pellets in Western Canada was estimated. The economically optimum size of production plant for the three yield scenarios in tonne year(-1) were 70,000, 150,000 and 150,000, respectively. The corresponding costs of production per tonne are $170.89, $129.42 and $122.17, respectively. However, the cost of pellets does not change much for capacities over 70,000tonne year(-1) for both the average and maximum yields. The optimum size is same for both av... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319853 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319852&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189802%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gil MV, Casal D, Pevida C, Pis JJ, Rubiera F The thermal characteristics and kinetics of coal, biomass (pine sawdust) and their blends were evaluated under combustion conditions using a non-isothermal thermogravimetric method (TGA). Biomass was blended with coal in the range of 5-80wt.% to evaluate their co-combustion behaviour. No significant interactions were detected between the coal and biomass, since no deviations from their expected behaviour were observed in these experiments. Biomass combustion takes place in two steps: between 200 and 360 degrees C the volatiles are released and burned, and at 360-490 degrees C char combustion takes place. In contrast, coal is characterized by only one combustion stage at 315-615 degrees C. The coal/biomass blends presented three comb... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319852 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319852 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319851&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189803%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Widmer W, Zhou W, Grohmann K Citrus processing waste (CPW) pretreated under different times, pH and temperatures was investigated. Pretreatments at 160 degrees C for longer than 4min with steam purging were needed to remove limonene, an inhibitor for fermentation, to below 0.1%. While hemicelluloses were solubilized well following all pretreatments at 160 degrees C, just 70% of the pectin was solubilized in natural CPW compared to over 80% after pretreatments using acid modified CPW (pH 2.8). Pretreatments at 160 degrees C on base modified CPW (initial pH 6.8) quickly destroyed pectin, had significantly lower dissolved solids, and were excessively viscous. Total sugars fermentable by Saccharomyces cerevisiae were not changed after pretreatment at 160 degrees C for up to 8min i... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319851 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319851 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319845&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189804%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wongsiriamnuay T, Tippayawong N A giant sensitive plant (Mimosa pigra L.) or Mimosa is a fast growing woody weed that poses a major environmental problem in agricultural and wet land areas. It may have potential to be used as a renewable energy source. In this work, thermal behaviour of dried Mimosa was investigated under inert atmosphere in a thermogravimetric analyzer at the heating rates of 10, 30, and 50 degrees C/min from room temperature to 1000 degrees C. Pyrolysis kinetic parameters in terms of apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor were determined. Two stages of major mass loss occurred during the thermal decomposition process, corresponding to degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose between 200-375 degrees C and decomposition of lignin around 375-70... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319845 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319845 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319843&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189805%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Turhan I, Bialka KL, Demirci A, Karhan M Carob has been widely grown in the Mediterranean region for a long time. It has been regarded as only a forest tree and has been neglected for other economical benefits. However, in recent years, this fruit has gained attention for several applications. As petroleum has become depleted, renewable energy production has started to gain attention all over the world; including the production of ethanol from underutilized agricultural products such as carob. In this project, the optimum extraction conditions were determined for the carob fruit by using the response surface design method. The obtained extract was utilized for production of ethanol by using suspended Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation. The effect of various fermentation par... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319843 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319843 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319842&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189806%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Prakasham RS, Sathish T, Brahmaiah P Efficient biohydrogen production from lignocellulosic hydrolysate assumes considerable practical and academic importance. The impact of glucose to xylose ratio, medium pH, inoculum size and age on biohydrogen production indicated that glucose to xylose ratio is the critical parameter for effective H(2) production compared to either pure glucose or xylose as carbon source. Inoculum size and its age contributed more than 70% to overall H(2) production and revealed significance at individual as well as interactive level. Maximum interaction of 39% and 32% was noticed with inoculum size and its age vs. glucose to xylose ratio (2:3), respectively. The H(2) production yield enhanced from 140 to 357ml/g substrate upon statistical optimization reve... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319842 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319858&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189379%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Min B, Bae IY, Lee HG, Yoo SH, Lee S Water soluble pectin-enriched materials (PEMs) from apple pomace, were evaluated as a fat replacer in a model food system. When PEM solutions were subjected to steady-shear measurements, shear-thinning behavior was observed. The flow behaviors could be described by the Cross model (R(2)=0.99), and temperature effects were investigated by the Arrhenius equation. The addition of PEMs significantly increased the pasting parameters of wheat flour as measured by a starch pasting rheometer. Gelatinization temperature and enthalpy increased with increasing PEM concentrations. When PEMs were incorporated into cookie formulations in place of shortening (semisolid fat generally used in baked foods) up to 30% by the weight of shortening, the cookie sp... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319858 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319857&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189380%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim JK, Dao VT, Kong IS, Lee HH Five bacteria isolated from earthworm viscera and identified as Brevibacillus agri, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus licheniformis, and Brevibacillus parabrevis by 16S rRNA sequencing were employed in the conversion of fish wastes generated from a restaurant specializing in sliced raw fish into fertilizer. Within 120h after inoculation of autoclaved fish waste with 5.15x10(5)CFUml(-1) mixed isolates, the amount of dry sludge decreased from 29.4 to 0.2g, the pH changed from 7.05 to 5.70, and the cell number reached 6.45x10(5)CFUml(-1). Analyses of an 84-h culture of inoculated fish waste indicated low phytotoxicity in a seed germination test, an amino acid content of 5.71g100g(-1), a low concentration of heavy metals (Pb, As, Cd, Hg, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn),... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319857 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319856&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20189381%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Suthar S This work illustrates the potential of domestic biogas digester slurry in vermicompost production. To achieve the objectives biogas plant slurry (BGS) was mixed with crop residues (CR) in different ratios to produce seven different feed mixtures for earthworm Eisenia fetida. After 15weeks vermicomposted material was analyzed for different chemical parameters. In all waste mixtures, a decrease in pH, organic C and C:N ratio, but increase total N, available P and exchangeable K was recorded. C:N ratio of end material (vermicompost) was within the agronomic acceptable limit (<20). The reproduction biology of E. fetida in different waste mixture was also monitored and they showed excellent biomass gain as well as cocoon production in all waste mixtures. The results cle... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319856 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319856 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319861&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20188540%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Li Z, Zhang X, Lin J, Han S, Lei L A microbial fuel cell and anaerobic-aerobic sequential reactor coupled system was used for azo dye degradation with simultaneous electricity production. Electricity was produced during the co-metabolism process of glucose and azo dye. A microorganism cultured graphite-granular cathode effectively decreased the charge transfer resistance of the cathode and yielded higher power density. Operation parameters including glucose concentration and hydraulic retention time were optimized. The results indicated that recovering electricity during a sequential aerobic-anaerobic azo dye treatment process enhanced chemical oxygen demand removal and did not decrease azo dye removal. Moreover, UV-vis spectra and GC-MS illustrated that the azo bond was cleav... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319861 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319861 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319860&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20188541%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lee JW, Rodrigues RC, Kim HJ, Choi IG, Jeffries TW High yields of hemicellulosic and cellulosic sugars are critical in obtaining economical conversion of agricultural residues to ethanol. To optimize pretreatment conditions, we evaluated oxalic acid loading rates, treatment temperatures and times in a 2(3) full factorial design. Response-surface analysis revealed an optimal oxalic acid pretreatment condition to release sugar from the cob of Zea mays L. ssp. and for Pichia stipitis CBS 6054. To ferment the residual cellulosic sugars to ethanol following enzymatic hydrolysis, highest saccharification and fermentation yields were obtained following pretreatment at 180 degrees C for 50min with 0.024g oxalic acid/g substrate. Under these conditions, only 7.5% hemicellulose remained... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319860 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3319859&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20188542%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hormigo D, de la Mata I, Acebal C, Arroyo M Aculeacin A acylase from Actinoplanes utahensis (AuAAC), an amidohydrolase able to catalyze the acyl moieties of antifungal echinocandin antibiotics, has been also described to efficiently hydrolyze penicillin V and natural aliphatic penicillins to yield 6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA). Hence, taking into account its potential use in the synthesis of beta-lactam antibiotics as well as antifungal echinocandins, the recombinant enzyme was covalently immobilized onto several epoxy-activated supports in order to obtain a robust biocatalyst to be used in industrial bioreactors. The best biocatalyst was obtained by attaching the enzyme on Sepabeads EC-EP5 where immobilized AuAAC was homogeneously distributed over the surface of this suppo... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3319859 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3319859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3316313&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20185301%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ahmad WA, Zakaria ZA, Khasim AR, Alias MA, Ismail SM The enzymatic reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by Cr(VI) resistant bacteria followed by chemical precipitation constitutes the ChromeBac system. Acinetobacter haemolyticus was immobilized onto carrier material inside a 0.2m(3) bioreactor. Neutralized electroplating wastewater with Cr(VI) concentration of 17-81mgL(-1) was fed into the bioreactor (0.11-0.33m(3)h(-1)). Complete Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) was obtained immediately after the start of bioreactor operation. Together with the flocculation, coagulation and filtration, outflow concentration of less than 0.02mg Cr(VI)L(-1) and 1mg total CrL(-1) were always obtained. Performance of the bioreactor was not affected by fluctuations in pH (6.2-8.4), Cr(VI) (17-81mgL(-1)), nut... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3316313 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3316313 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3316312&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20185302%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chatterjee S, Lee DS, Lee MW, Woo SH Surfactants in their impregnated forms in chitosan beads (CBs) were used for sorption of naphthalene (NAP) from aqueous solutions. Three different surfactants, Triton X-100 (TX100), cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), were selected for this study. The results showed that surfactant-impregnated CS beads (SICBs) in the form of a separate phase surfactant were very effective for NAP sorption. The calculated molar sorption ratio (MSR(B) mol NAP/mol surfactant) of the surfactant impregnated into SICBs was much greater than the intrinsic molar solubilization ratio (MSR) in liquid phase. The high MSR(B) value could be explained by favorable configurations of surfactants in beads, such as micelles in sorbed form... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3316312 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3316312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3316311&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20185303%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ranilla LG, Kwon YI, Apostolidis E, Shetty K Traditionally used medicinal plants, herbs and spices in Latin America were investigated to determine their phenolic profiles, antioxidant activity and in vitro inhibitory potential against key enzymes relevant for hyperglycemia and hypertension. High phenolic and antioxidant activity-containing medicinal plants and spices such as Chancapiedra (Phyllantus niruri L.), Zarzaparrilla (Smilax officinalis), Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguayensis St-Hil), and Huacatay (Tagetes minuta) had the highest anti-hyperglycemia relevant in vitro alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities with no effect on alpha-amylase. Molle (Schinus molle), Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp), Caigua (Cyclanthera pedata) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) inhibited significantly th... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3316311 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3316311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3316314&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20185300%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Adel AM, -Wahab ZH, Ibrahim AA, Al-Shemy MT Rice hulls (RH) and bean hulls (BH) were subjected to prehydrolysis treatments, to define the optimum conditions for producing a high percentage of hydrolyzed hemicellulose with a small or moderate degradation of the cellulosic portion. The hydrolysis experiments were performed using hydrochloric and sulfuric acids in concentrations ranging from (0.5 to 5)% (w/w) at 120 degrees C for 90min and 10% consistency. The effects of different temperatures (80 to 120 degrees C) and time (30 to 120min) on acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials were recorded. It was found that, the optimum condition to hydrolyze the lignocellulosic materials (RH) and (BH) are 2% (w/w) of mineral acid at 120 degrees C for 90min and 10% consistency. The cel... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3316314 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3316314 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3316310&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20185304%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: López SN, Lopes AA, Batista JM, Flausino O, Bolzani VD, Kato MJ, Furlan M The ability to carry out geranylations on aromatic substrates using enzymatic extracts from the leaves of Piper crassinervium (Piperaceae) was evaluated. A literature analysis pointed out its importance as a source of prenylated bioactive molecules. The screening performed on aromatic acceptors (benzoic acids, phenols and phenylpropanoids) including geranyl diphosphate as prenyl donor, showed the biotransformation of the 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid by the crude extract, and the p-hydroxybenzoic acid by both the microsomal fraction and the crude extract, after treating leaves with glucose. The analysis of the products allowed the identification of C- and O-geranylated derivatives, and the protease (sub... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3316310 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3316310 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3316316&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20181477%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lopes SI, Capela MI, Lens PN This work studied the effect of supplying trace metals (7.5muM Fe and 0.5muM Co, Ni, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Se, Mo and W) on sulfate reduction and acidification in thermophilic (55 degrees C) UASB reactors fed with sucrose (4 gCOD (l(reactor) d)(-1)) operated at a reactor mixed liquor pH controlled at 5. Trace metals were supplied to one UASB reactor and were omitted from the influent of a second UASB reactor. The influence of different trace metal concentrations was further assessed in batch tests performed with the sludge from the UASB reactor receiving no trace metals. The absence of trace metals in the influent did not affect the performance of the acidifying UASB reactor throughout the 305day long reactor run, but supplying low concentrations of trace... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3316316 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3316316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3316315&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20181478%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wan J, Wang Y, Xiao Q Eucalyptus pulp fibers with large differences in cellulose and hemicellulose proportions but similar lignin contents were produced by partial removal of the hemicellulose and studied using Cross-Polarization Magic Angle Spinning Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (CP/MAS (13)C NMR) in combination with spectral fitting, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). There were remarkable differences in both cellulose fibril structure, pore structure and cellulose supermolecular structure between the samples. CP/MAS (13)C NMR combined with spectral fitting demonstrated an increase in average fibril aggregate size (17.9-22.2nm) with decreasing hemicellulose content. AFM observations revealed that ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3316315 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3316315 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303083&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20172713%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Avelar FF, Bianchi ML, Gonçalves M, da Mota EG The piassava fiber, residue of the broom industry, was used as precursor for the preparation of activated carbons (AC). AC were prepared by chemical activation with zinc chloride (AC ZnCl(2)) or phosphoric acid (AC H(3)PO(4)) and by physical activation with carbon dioxide (AC CO(2)) or water vapor (AC H(2)O). These materials were characterized by adsorption/desorption of N(2) to determine the BET areas, elemental analysis (CHN), thermogravimetric analysis (TG, DTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The carbons were tested with respect to their adsorption capacity of methylene blue, reactive red, phenol and metallic ions (Cr(+6), Cu(+2) and Zn(+2)). AC ZnCl(2) presented the highest surface area (1190m(2)g(-1)) and AC H(3... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303083 Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303083 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303077&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20176477%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Nugroho Prasetyo E, Kudanga T, Rencoret J, Gutiérrez A, Del Río JC, Ignacio Santos J, Nieto L, Jiménez-Barbero J, Martínez AT, Li J, Gellerstedt G, Lepifre S, Silva C, Kim SY, Cavaco-Paulo A, Seljebakken Klausen B, Lutnaes BF, Nyanhongo GS, Guebitz GM The ability of laccases from Trametes villosa (TvL), Myceliophthora thermophila (MtL), Trametes hirsuta (ThL) and Bacillus subtilis (BsL) to improve the dispersion properties of calcium lignosulfonates 398 in the presence of HBT as a mediator was investigated. Size exclusion chromatography showed an extensive increase in molecular weight of the samples incubated with TvL and ThL by 107% and 572% from 28400Da after 17h of incubation, respectively. Interestingly, FTIR spectroscopy, (13)C NMR and Py-GC/MS analysi... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303077 Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303082&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20172714%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bansal P, Hall M, Realff MJ, Lee JH, Bommarius AS The enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose by cellulases is one of the major steps in the production of ethanol from lignocellulosics. However, cellulosic biomass is not particularly susceptible to enzymatic attack and crystallinity of the substrates is one of the key properties that determine the hydrolysis rates. In this work, by quantifying the respective contributions of amorphous and crystalline cellulose to the X-ray diffraction spectra of cellulose with intermediate degrees of crystallinity, a new method to obtain consistent crystallinity index values was developed. Multivariate statistical analysis was applied to spectra obtained from phosphoric acid pretreated cellulose samples of various intermediate (but undetermined) cry... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303082 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303082 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303081&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20172715%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Luna AS, Costa AL, da Costa AC, Henriques CA The present work describes our study on the competitive biosorption of Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions onto Sargassum filipendula from single component and binary systems. Results showed that S. filipendula was an efficient biosorbent for the removal of Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions from an aqueous solution. The equilibrium experimental data for the single component system for the two metallic species fitted well to Langmuir and Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm models. Seven isotherm models were tested with the equilibrium data for modeling of the binary system. Based on the sum of squares error, the Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm model showed the best fit to the binary adsorption data. The influence of the additional cation on the behavior of the biosor... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303081 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303081 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303101&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171877%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Patwardhan PR, Satrio JA, Brown RC, Shanks BH Processing bio-oil with the help of currently existing petroleum refinery infrastructure has been considered as a promising alternative to produce sustainable fuels in the future. The feasibility of bio-oil production and upgrading processes depend upon its chemical composition which in turn depends on the biomass composition and the process conditions of the fast pyrolysis reactions. The primary goal of this paper was to investigate the effect of mineral salts including mixtures of salts in the form of switchgrass ash on the chemical speciation resulting from primary pyrolysis reactions of cellulose and to gain an insight of the underlying mechanisms. Various concentrations of inorganic salts (NaCl, KCl, MgCl(2), CaCl(2), Ca(OH)(2... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303101 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303101 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303096&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171878%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Oliveira EE, Silva AE, Júnior TN, Gomes MC, Aguiar LM, Marcelino HR, Araújo IB, Bayer MP, Ricardo NM, Oliveira AG, Egito ES Although many authors have reported several beneficial effects ascribed to xylan, such as inhibitory action on mutagenicity activity, antiphlogistic effects, and mitogenic and comitogenic activities, few papers have investigated a systematic study on the technological properties of this polymer. The aim of the present work was to evaluate xylan as a promise raw material for the pharmaceutical industry. The water-insoluble xylan samples were extracted from corn cobs following several steps. The obtained powered sample was analyzed by infrared and RMN spectroscopy, and characterized regarding their particle size, bulk and tap densities, compressib... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303096 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303096 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303090&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171879%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Pinto RP, Srinivasan B, Manuel MF, Tartakovsky B This work presents a two-population model describing the competition of anodophilic and methanogenic microbial populations for a common substrate in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). Fast numerical solution of the model is provided by using ordinary differential equations to describe biomass growth and retention in the anodic compartment. The model parameters are estimated and validated using experimental results obtained in four continuous-flow air-cathode MFCs operated at various external resistances and organic loads. Model analysis demonstrates the influence of operating conditions on MFC performance and suggests ways to maximize MFC power output. The model is suitable both for process optimization and on-line control application... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303090 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303090 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303089&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171880%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sotoft LF, Rong BG, Christensen KV, Norddahl B Process simulation and economical evaluation of an enzymatic biodiesel production plant has been carried out. Enzymatic biodiesel production from high quality rapeseed oil and methanol has been investigated for solvent free and cosolvent production processes. Several scenarios have been investigated with different production scales (8 and 200mio. kg biodiesel/year) and enzyme price. The cosolvent production process is found to be most expensive and is not a viable choice, while the solvent free process is viable for the larger scale production of 200mio. kg biodiesel/year with the current enzyme price. With the suggested enzyme price of the future, both the small and large scale solvent free production proved viable. The product p... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303089 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303089 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303088&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171881%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Li Z, Bohn PW, Sweedler JV Efforts to further the potential of the large perennial grass Miscanthusxgiganteus as a biofuel feedstock would be aided by the ability to image the chemical species present during the fuel production process. Toward this end, two mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) approaches have been investigated here-laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). As a first step, cross sections of Miscanthus were subjected to a variety of sample preparation methods to optimize conditions for MSI. For LDI-MS, a thin metal coating (2nm thick Au) provided high quality signals of saccharide-related ions. The traditional matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization matrix, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, also showed high effic... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303088 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303088 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303087&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171882%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Su Y, Li X, Liu Q, Hou Z, Zhu X, Guo X, Ling P In order to alleviate oxygen limitation and improve the yield of poly-gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) during fermentation, the Vitreoscilla hemoglobin gene (vgb) was integrated into the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis and expressed during gamma-PGA production. The activity of the expressed Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) was confirmed by CO-difference spectrum. Expression of VHb enhanced cell growth under high viscosity fermentation conditions 1.26-fold and increased the yield of gamma-PGA 2.07-fold. These results indicate that the expression of VHb could be advantageous in high viscosity fermentation media. PMID: 20171882 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioresource Technology) Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303087 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303087 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303086&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171883%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lopes SI, Capela MI, Lens PN This work studied the effect of the sulfide concentration and COD/SO(4)(2-) ratios (4 and 1) on sulfate reduction and acidification in a thermophilic (55 degrees C) UASB reactor fed with sucrose (4gCOD(l(reactor)d)(-1)) operated at a reactor mixed liquor pH controlled at 5 for a period of 301days. When implementing N(2) stripping, sulfate reduction efficiencies up to 95%, corresponding to volumetric sulfate reduction rates of 0.87 and 4.2g (l(reactor)d)(-1) at the COD/SO(4)(2-) ratios of 4 and 1, respectively, were achieved. Sulfide was toxic to sulfate reduction at a total dissolved sulfide concentration of 100mgl(-1). Acidification was always complete and acetate was the only form of substrate in the effluent at a COD/SO(4)(2-) ratio of 1. The sl... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303086 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303085&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171884%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cui XH, Chakrabarty D, Lee EJ, Paek KY We investigated the effects of different concentrations of auxin and auxin/cytokinin combinations, inoculum sizes and Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium dilutions on biomass and accumulation of total phenols and flavonoids in adventitious roots of Hypericum perforatum. The optimized conditions for the shake flask culture growth and secondary metabolites production were 0.1mg/l kinetin with 1mg/l indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), an inoculum density of 6g/l fresh weight (FW) and 1/2MS in the 5-week old cultures. By inoculating 6g/l of adventitious roots into a 3-l balloon type bubble bioreactor (BTBB) containing l/2 MS medium supplemented with 0.1mg/l kinetin with 1mg/l IBA, 104.2g/l adventitious roots were harvested containing 56.47+/-0.22mg/g dr... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303085 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303085 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303084&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171885%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wang ZM, Cheung YC, Leung PH, Wu JY High-power ultrasound (20kHz) was applied to modify the physicochemical properties of a high-molecular weight (MW) exopolysaccharide (EPS) from mycelial culture of a medicinal fungus. At 35W/cm(2) or higher ultrasound power, the apparent and intrinsic viscosities of EPS solution dropped by nearly 85% within 10min, and the water solubility was increased by more than fourfold. The ultrasonic treatment led to a notable reduction of the maximum MW and a more uniform MW distribution, but no significant change in the primary structure of the EPS molecules. In contrast, the intrinsic viscosity of EPS was reduced by only 20% in 1.0M sulfuric acid at 50 degrees C for 9h. Ultrasound was proven an effective and favorable means for improving the solutio... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303084 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303084 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303120&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171086%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: García M, Gonzalo A, Sánchez JL, Arauzo J, Peña JA A continuous process for biodiesel production has been simulated using Aspen HYSYS V7.0 software. As fresh feed, feedstocks with a mild acid content have been used. The process flowsheet follows a traditional alkaline transesterification scheme constituted by esterification, transesterification and purification stages. Kinetic models taking into account the concentration of the different species have been employed in order to simulate the behavior of the CSTR reactors and the product distribution within the process. The comparison between experimental data found in literature and the predicted normalized properties, has been discussed. Additionally, a comparison between different thermodynamic packages has been ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303120 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303120 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303119&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171087%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jolanun B, Towprayoon S New granular material from clay residue was investigated as a bulking agent for food waste composting. Five mixing ratios of granule were conducted in a laboratory scale reactor at the desired low rate of air (0.05lmin(-1)). The evolution of temperature and the accumulative CO(2) emissions were monitored. Physical and chemical changes, N loss, and organic matter degradation of compost were also examined. Adoption of granules of 15% V/V (FAS 31.6%) enhanced the thermophilic composting and CO(2) emissions; thus satisfying the Process to Further Reduce Pathogens (PFRP, USEPA) as well as obtaining the highest rate constant of organic matter degradation (k=0.005day(-1)). As the amount of granules was doubled (35% V/V), the temperature was not only cooled, bu... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303119 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303118&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171088%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gírio FM, Fonseca C, Carvalheiro F, Duarte LC, Marques S, Bogel-Łukasik R Hemicelluloses currently represent the largest polysaccharide fraction wasted in most cellulosic ethanol pilot and demonstration plants around the world. The reasons are based on the hemicelluloses heterogeneous polymeric nature and their low fermentability by the most common industrial microbial strains. This paper will review, in a "from field to fuel" approach the various hemicelluloses structures present in lignocellulose, the range of pre-treatment and hydrolysis options including the enzymatic ones, and the role of different microbial strains on process integration aiming to reach a meaningful consolidated bioprocessing. The recent trends, technical barriers and perspectives of future de... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303118 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303118 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303116&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171089%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Azeez JO, Van Averbeke W Understanding the dynamics of N forms applied as manure is germane for appropriate rate and timing of applications of manure. Manure characterization and laboratory incubation were conducted for 120days to study the mineralization of poultry, cattle and goat manures. Results showed that manure properties differ. Net immobilization of N was recorded for goat and cattle manures while poultry manure mineralized marginally. The relationship between N release and time is polynomial (cubic). The release phases were: initial rapid N release at 0-30days; phase of constant release; 40-55days; decline phase in N release 70-90days and sharp increase in N release at 120days. Increasing the N rates of manures above 120kgNha(-1) will improve their potential as plant... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303116 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303116 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303109&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171090%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Duteanu N, Erable B, Senthil Kumar SM, Ghangrekar MM, Scott K The catalytic activity of modified carbon powder (Vulcan XC-72R) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in an air-breathing cathode of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been investigated. Chemical modification was carried out by using various chemicals, namely 5% nitric acid, 0.2N phosphoric acid, 0.2N potassium hydroxide and 10% hydrogen peroxide. Electrochemical study was performed for ORR of these modified carbon materials in the buffer solution pH range of 6-7.5 in the anodic compartment. Although, these treatments influenced the surface properties of the carbon material, as evident from the SEM-EDX analysis, treatment with H(2)PO(4), KOH, and H(2)O(2) did not show significant activity during the electrochemical test... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303109 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303106&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171091%26dopt%3DAbstract The objective of this study is to investigate the energy consumption of pre-treating excess sewage sludge with microwave irradiation using several parameters, including temperature rise, degree of cell destruction, SCOD/TCOD ratio (solids solubilization), and biogas production to evaluate the energy efficiency. It was found that water content was the most important factor that influenced the energy efficiency of raising the temperature and promoting the solubilization of solid materials. Increasing specific energy (E(s)) accelerated the biogas production, but there was a limit to this process. For quantitative comparison to the energy efficiency of different pre-treatment steps, an empirical method was also proposed based on the experimental data. PMID: 20171091 [PubMed - as supplied b... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303106 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303106 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303105&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171092%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, the effects of glycerol on cephalosporin C production by Acremonium chrysogenum M35 were evaluated. The addition of glycerol increased cephalosporin production by up to 12-fold. Glycerol caused the upregulation of the transcription of the isopenicillin synthase (pcbC) and transporter (cefT) genes in early exponential phase, and affected the cell morphology since hyphal fragments differentiated into arthrospores. These results indicate that glycerol effectively enhances cephalosporin C production via stimulation of cell differentiation. PMID: 20171092 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioresource Technology) Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303105 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303105 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303104&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171093%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Martines AM, Nogueira MA, Santos CA, Nakatani AS, Andrade CA, Coscione AR, Cantarella H, Sousa JP, Cardoso EJ The utilization of tannery sludge in agricultural areas can be an alternative for its disposal and recycling. Despite this procedure may cause the loss of nitrogen by ammonia volatilization, there is no information about this process in tropical soils. For two years a field experiment was carried out in Rolândia (Paraná State, Brazil), to evaluate the amount of NH(3) volatilization due to tannery sludge application on agricultural soil. The doses of total N applied varied from zero to 1200kgha(-1), maintained at the surface for 89days, as usual in this region. The alkalinity of the tannery sludge used was equivalent to between 262 and 361g CaCO(3) per kg. Mic... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303104 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303104 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3303103&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20171094%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Younsi R, Kocaefe D, Poncsak S, Kocaefe Y, Gastonguay L The present study is devoted to a numerical study with experimental validation of the high-temperature thermal treatment of three-dimensional wood pole. During the heat treatment process, the heat and mass transfer takes place between the solid and the drying medium, and the moisture evaporation occurs within the solid due to the capillarity action and diffusion. The development of the model equations, taking into account both bulk phases and interfaces of the multiphase system is described, starting from the microscopic scale. Fundamental to this model is the ability to quantify the effects of key material and geometric properties of the pole. The three-dimensional and unsteady-state mathematical model equations are solv... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3303103 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3303103 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3291368&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20167478%26dopt%3DAbstract This study provides an extension to the application of Shewanella strain J18 143 bacterial cells in the decoloration of textile wastewaters. PMID: 20167478 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioresource Technology) Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3291368 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3291368 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3291376&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20163953%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Dinesh R, Srinivasan V, Hamza S, Manjusha A The study was conducted to determine whether short-term incorporation of organic manures and biofertilizers influence biochemical and microbial variables reflecting soil quality. For the study, soils were collected from a field experiment conducted on turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) involving organic nutrient management (ONM), chemical nutrient management (CNM) and integrated nutrient management (INM). The findings revealed that application of organic manures and biofertilizers (ONM and INM) positively influenced microbial biomass C, N mineralization, soil respiration and enzymes activities. Contrarily, greater metabolic quotient levels in CNM indicated a stressed soil microbial community. Principal component analysis indicated the stron... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3291376 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3291376 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3291375&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20163954%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wahab MA, Jellali S, Jedidi N Sawdust, an available and renewable biomass, was investigated as a novel ammonium biosorbent. Biosorption occurred over a pH range of 6-10, reached an equilibrium state within only 20min, and can be described by a pseudo-second-order model predicting a chemisorption process. Equilibrium data were very well represented by Langmuir isotherm and confirm monolayer coverage. FTIR analysis before and after biosorption of ammonium onto sawdust suggested that the main mechanisms involved in the removal of ammonium might be the ionic exchange and complexation. The use of sawdust presents an interesting option for both tertiary wastewater treatment (as a possible non-conventional biosorbent for the removal of ammonium), and waste recycling (as a fertilizer ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3291375 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3291375 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3291374&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20163955%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Nkansah K, Dawson-Andoh B, Slahor J This paper is the first of a two series papers on the use of near infrared (NIR) coupled with multivariate data analysis (MVDA) as a process analytical technology (PAT) tool for the rapid characterization of physical and chemical properties of two common West Virginian hardwood species, northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.). These two wood species are potential feed stock for the bio-refinery industry. In Part 1, we report our results on yellow-poplar. The results of this study demonstrated that some preprocessing operations on the NIR spectra (first derivative) greatly improved all the prediction models developed in the study. Predictive PLS1 models developed using selective spectra regions, 1300-18... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3291374 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3291374 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3291373&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20163956%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Coimbra CG, Lopes CE, Calazans GM During the fructose and polymerization to synthesize levan, smaller fructooligosaccharide (FOS) molecules are produced. FOS can also be obtained by levan hydrolysis. Three-phase partitioning (TPP) is a separation technique that has been used for polysaccharide precipitation and gathers t-butanol and ammonium sulphate to exclude the polymer from the aqueous solution. In this work TPP was tested to separate levan and FOS from aqueous solution. The FOS used was obtained from Zymomonas mobilis levan acid hydrolysis and fractionation with ethanol. The yield of low TPP fractions was higher than those obtained from the native levan. The F-90 exhibited a higher yield than other fractions. However, when applying the TPP technique to lightest fraction n... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3291373 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3291373 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3291372&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20163957%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, a plasmatron reactor was used for gasifying the waste of distillers grains at different temperatures (773, 873, 973K) and water flow rates (1, 2, 3mLmin(-1)), which were heated to produce steam. Among all the gas products, syngas was the major component (88.5 wt.% or 94.66 vol.%) with temperatures yielding maximum concentrations at 873K with a relatively high reaction rate. The maximum concentrations regarding gaseous production occurring times are all below 1min. With the increase of steam, the recovery mass yield of syngas also increases from 34.14 to 45.47 approximately 54.66 wt.% at 873K. Water-gas reactions and steam-methane reforming reactions advance the production of syngas with the increase of steam. Furthermore, the water-shift reaction also increases in the contex... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3291372 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3291372 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3291371&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20163958%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yamamoto M, Nishida A, Otsuka K, Komai T, Fukushima M In evaluating the quality of composts that include humic substances (HSs), the binding of iron(II) (conditional binding constants and binding capacities) are an important criteria. To determine the binding ability, it is necessary to determine the concentrations of free Fe(2+) and Fe(II)-HS complex species present. In the present study, we describe a colorimetric method for determining free Fe(2+) species using ferrozine in an aqueous solution of Fe(2+) and HS. It was found that the colored species in the Fe(2+) and HS mixture represented only free Fe(2+) species. Two water soluble fractions of HS, humic (HA) and fulvic (FA) acids, were isolated from a compost sample, and the conditional binding constants and binding capaci... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3291371 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3291371 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3291370&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20163959%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lü X, Cui S In this paper, we explored a facile method to prepare stable silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) using extracted wool keratin as the capping agent. The formation of Ag NPs was investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photo-electron spectrometer and X-ray diffraction spectrometer. The morphology of the NPs was detected by scanning electron microscopy in vacuum and atomic force microscopy in fluid. The possible interactions between the silver core and the capping agent have been investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of keratin concentration on the incubation of the NPs were studied by UV-Vis spectra. It was found that under alkaline condition the process of incubation was much faster than that under neutral pH condition. The photolu... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3291370 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3291370 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3291369&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20163960%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Dalmau J, Comas J, Rodríguez-Roda I, Pagilla K, Steyer JP Although there is not a complete agreement on the causes of foaming in anaerobic digestion, experts and operators do have valuable empirical knowledge of key factors. Based on this knowledge, a model for calculating the risk of foaming in anaerobic digestion systems due to microbiological causes has been developed. Organic loading rate, variation in organic loading rate, and the presence of filamentous microorganisms in the activated sludge system, used as a feed source for the digester, have been selected as the inputs of a knowledge-based model designed to provide as output the risk of foaming in an anaerobic digester. The performance of the model is demonstrated by means of a case study using the IWA Benchmark S... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3291369 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3291369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276887&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156676%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cheng F, Li M, Li D, Chen L, Jiang W, Kitamura Y, Li B Volatile organic acid adsorption, cation dissociation by porphyritic andesite, and their effects on the hydrolysis and acidogenesis of solid food wastes were evaluated through batch experiments. The acetic acid adsorption experiments show that pH was mainly regulated by H(+) adsorption. The mono-layer and multi-layer adsorption were found under the low (8.3-83.2mmol/L) and high (133.22-532.89mmol/L) initial acetic acid concentration, respectively. The dissociated cations concentration in acidic solution showed the predominance of Ca(2+). Porphyritic andesite addition elevated the pH levels and accelerated hydrolysis and acidogenesis in the batch fermentation experiment. Leachate of porphyritic andesite addition achieved th... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276887 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276886&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156677%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sahan T, Ceylan H, Sahiner N, Aktaş N A multi-step response surface methodology was successfully applied to optimize the biosorption conditions for the maximum removal of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions using Trametes versicolor fungi as a biosorbent. In the first step, the most effective medium factors, which are pH, temperature and initial Cu(II) concentration, on biosorption of Cu(II), were determined through Plackett-Burman Design. Then steepest accent followed by central composite design steps were utilized to evaluate the optimum biosorption conditions for the maximum Cu(II) ions removal. Based on the statistic analysis; the optimum conditions were obtained 5.51, 20.13 degrees C and 60.98mg/L as medium pH, medium temperature and initial Cu(II) concentration, res... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276886 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276885&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156678%26dopt%3DAbstract This study compared the synergistic degradation of un-treated and lime pre-treated sugarcane bagasse using cellulosomal and non-cellulosomal hemicellulases as free enzymes. The enzyme combination of 37.5% ArfA and 62.5% ManA produced the highest amount of reducing sugar of 91.834mumol/min for the degradation of un-treated bagasse. This enzyme combination produced a degree of synergy of 1.87. The free enzymes displayed an approximately 6-fold increase in the enzyme activity, i.e. the total amount of reducing sugar released (593.65mumol/min) with the enzyme combination of 37.5% ArfA, 25% ManA and 37.5% XynA for the lime pre-treated substrate and a degree of synergy of 2.14. To conclude, this study indicated that pre-treating the sugarcane bagasse is essential, in order to increase the effici... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276885 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276884&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156679%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Owlad M, Aroua MK, Wan Daud WM Removal of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solution was investigated using modified palm shell activated carbon. Low Molecular Weight Polyethyleneimine (LMW PEI) was used for impregnation purpose. The maximum amount of LMW PEI adsorbed on activated carbon was determined to be approximately 228.2mg/g carbon. The adsorption experiments were carried out in a batch system using potassium dichromate K(2)Cr(2)O(7) as the source of Cr(VI) in the synthetic waste water and modified palm shell activated carbon as the adsorbent. The effects of pH, concentration of Cr(VI) and PEI loaded on activated carbon were studied. The adsorption data were found to fit well with the Freundlich isotherm model. This modified Palm shell activated carbon showed high adsorption cap... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276884 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276883&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156680%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, a novel indigo-producing bacterial strain PP-2 was isolated from activated sludge. It was identified as Acinetobacter sp. according to phylogenetic similarity of 16S rRNA gene sequence. This isolate was able to produce indigo from indole by utilizing a wide range of aromatic hydrocarbons. The results of SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the enzyme system induced by phenol was more abundant than that induced by other aromatic hydrocarbons. And the effects of metal ions on indigo production were also investigated, which indicated that the activity of cells induced with phenol could be inhibited by 0.5mM Fe(3+). Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the process of indigo bio-production. The results exhibited that the maximal yield was achieved with 157.92mgL(-1... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276883 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276883 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276882&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156681%26dopt%3DAbstract This study focuses on the fate of endosulfan metabolites, in small-scale biopurification systems, using as adsorbents treated and untreated organic agricultural stones (date, olive and avocado). The effects of sorbent particle size, adsorbent dose, contact time, concentration of pesticide solution and temperature on the adsorption processes were systematically studied in batch experiments. Pesticide determination was carried out using stir bar sorptive extraction and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy. Maximum removal efficiency (94.8%) was reached for endosulfan sulfate (0.1mgL(-1)) using the acid-treated date stones (ATOS) fraction <125mum (solid/liquid ratio: 1gL(-1)). According to the general behavior of the adsorption mechanism, date stones show the higher removal ef... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276882 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276882 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276881&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156682%26dopt%3DAbstract This study explored dye decolorization and bioelectricity generation of indigenous Proteus hauseri ZMd44 for dye-bearing wastewater treatment. Chemical structures of azo dyes apparently affected the performance of dye biodecolorization. Additions of diazo dye C.I. reactive blue 160 (RBu160) stimulated simultaneous dye decolorization and bioelectricity generation of ZMd44 in single chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs). However, high-level additions of RBu160 repressed capabilities of power production in MFC due to competition of electrons used for reductive decolorization. Decolorized intermediates of RBu160-phenyl methadiamine and 5-sulfoanthranilic acid as electron shuttles might mediate electron transport for current generation in MFC. PMID: 20156682 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276881 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276880&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156683%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Stamenković OS, Veljković VB, Todorović ZB, Lazić ML, Banković-Ilić IB, Skala DU The kinetics of Ca(OH)(2)-catalyzed methanolysis of sunflower oil was studied at a moderate temperature (60 degrees C), a methanol-to-oil molar ratio (6:1) and different catalyst amounts (from 1% to 10% based on oil weight). The methanolysis process was shown to involve the initial triglyceride (TG) mass transfer controlled region, followed by the chemical reaction controlled region in the latter period. The TG mass transfer limitation was caused by the low available active specific catalyst surface due to the high adsorbed methanol concentration. Both the TG mass transfer and chemical reaction rates increased with increasing the catalyst amount. PMID: 20156... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276880 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276880 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276879&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156684%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Guo S, Mao W, Han Y, Zhang X, Yang C, Chen Y, Chen Y, Xu J, Li H, Qi X, Xu J Two water-soluble extracellular polysaccharides, ETW1 and ETW2, were isolated from the marine bacterium Edwardsiella tarda by ion-exchange and size-exclusion chromatography, and their structures were investigated. ETW1 and ETW2 are mannans, with molecular weights of about 29 and 70kDa, respectively. The main chain of the polysaccharides consists of (1-->3)-linked mannose residues, and branched mannose linkages were also detected. The branch points are located at the C-2 and C-6 positions of the (1-->3)-linked mannose residues. The side chains are composed of (1-->2)-linked mannose residues and (1-->)-linked mannose residues. Antioxidant properties of the two extracellular polysaccharides w... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276879 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276879 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276878&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156685%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kaushik G, Gopal M, Thakur IS The ability of Emericella nidulans var. lata, Neurospora intermedia and Bacillus sp. to treat distillery spent wash in a three stage bioreactor was investigated. Process parameters were optimized in shake flask cultures with the individual strains before treatment of the effluent in a 15-l bioreactor. Treatment was first carried out by the fungi followed by bacteria. The treated effluent showed significant reduction in color (82%) and COD (93%) after 30h. Metabolites formed after degradation of complex polymers in distillery effluent were assayed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and included furan, simple acid types and organic compounds. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA and 18S rDNA sequences amplified from DNA isolated ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276878 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276878 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276877&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20156686%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Qi B, Chen X, Wan Y Pretreating wheat straw (WS) with combined use of varied sulfuric acid concentration (0-3%, w/v) and Tween 20 concentration (0-1%) was investigated in an attempt to enhance the hydrolysis and fermentability of pretreated WS. Enzymatic hydrolysis yield of glucan and xylan and ethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of water-insoluble solids (WIS) were significantly affected by the amount of Tween 20 added during acid pretreatment. Any further addition of Tween 20 in either hydrolysis stage or fermentation stage only led to small increase in glucan conversion and ethanol production. Determination of adsorption of cellulases during hydrolysis showed that Tween 20-assisted acid treated straw solution contained more free cellul... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276877 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276901&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153631%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, suspended biomass samples (nitrifier enriched activated sludge) were collected from a bench scale nitrification reactor with Nitrobacter spp. as the dominant nitrite oxidizer and subjected to batch respirometric experiments designed to quantify free ammonia inhibition of nitrite oxidization. A variety of data including ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate conversion rates, oxygen consumption rates, and Nitrobacter ribosomal RNA transcript abundance, a molecular indicator of growth activity, were used to assess nitrite oxidation and growth activity. Both the traditional and molecular activity assessments indicated that free ammonia had a limited inhibitory effect on Nitrobacter spp. In fact, the pH changes necessary to induce high free ammonia concentrations (>10mg-N/L) had a dem... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276901 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276890&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153960%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Razuan R, Chen Q, Zhang X, Sharifi V, Swithenbank J The main objective of this research was to investigate the main characteristics of the thermo-chemical conversion of oil palm stone (OPS) and palm kernel cake (PKC). A series of combustion and pyrolysis tests were carried out in two fixed-bed reactors. The effects of heating rate at the temperature of 700 degrees C on the yields and properties of the pyrolysis products were investigated. The results from the combustion experiments showed that the burning rates increased with an increase in the air flow rate. In addition, the FLIC code was used to simulate the combustion of the oil palm stone to investigate the effect of primary air flow on the combustion process. The FLIC modelling results were in good agreement with the expe... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276890 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276889&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153961%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Levin L, Melignani E, Ramos AM The effect of amino acids, complex nitrogen sources and vitamin addition on Trametes trogii, Trametes villosa and Coriolus versicolor var. antarcticus ligninolytic enzyme production, was evaluated. Dye decolorization by their culture filtrates was compared. Glutamic acid followed by peptone, were the best N sources for laccase and manganese peroxidase production. The three fungi produced two laccase isoenzymes (molecular weights from 38 up to 150kDa); their pattern of production was not affected by medium composition. Although the response was not uniform, vitamin addition sometimes stimulated ligninolytic enzyme production, but never inhibited it. Thiamine induced manganese peroxidase production. T. trogii grown in glutamic acid produced culture... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276889 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276888&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153962%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Meng F, Zhou B, Lin R, Jia L, Liu X, Deng P, Fan K, Wang G, Wang L, Zhang J Response surface methodology was used to optimize extraction parameters for Morchella esculenta SO-01 exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced during submerged culture. The optimum conditions for EPS extraction were predicted to be, concentration at 84.07 degrees C, precipitation for 22.19h and pH8.44, and EPS production was estimated at 5.45g/L. The actual yield of EPS under these conditions was 5.32g/L. The antioxidant capacity of the EPS was measured in vivo after filling the stomach with different doses of EPS and results showed that the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) of blood, spleen, liver, heart, and kidney were increased by 125%, 46.11%, 23.33%, 12.19%, 41.... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276888 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276919&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153165%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yan Q, Zhao M, Miao H, Ruan W, Song R Coupling bio-production of hydrogen and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from Taihu blue algae through metabolites circulation was investigated. It was found that the pH adjustment, especially basification was more practical and efficient than other methods for the pretreatment of blue algae before anaerobic digestion. On this occasion, SCOD, biogas accumulation and hydrogen content reached 26mg/gTS, 500mL and 37.2%, and which were 4.3, 1.3 and 14.4 times of those of the control group, respectively. Secondly, amounts of both butyric acid and hydrogen could be further increased when blue algae was alkali pretreated at pH 13, as the accumulation of butyric acid, acetic acid and hydrogen reached 1.7, 1.4 and 3.8 times compared to those of the cont... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276919 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276919 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276900&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153632%26dopt%3DAbstract This study determined feedstock effects on earthworm populations and the quality of resulting vermicomposts produced from different types of feedstocks using different vermicomposting durations. Feedstock combinations (Kitchen Paper Waste (KPW), Kitchen Yard Waste (KYW), Cattle Manure Yard Waste (CMY)), three durations of vermicomposting (45, 68 or 90days), and two seed germination methods (with two concentrations of vermicompost) for radish, marigold and upland cress, served as the independent variables. The worms (Eisenia fetida) doubled their weight by day 68 in KPW and CMY vermicomposts and day 90 KPW vermicompost produced the greatest weight of worms. The direct seed germination method (seeding into soil or vermicompost-soil mixtures) indicated that KPW and KYW feedstocks decreased ge... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276900 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276900 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276899&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153633%26dopt%3DAbstract This study aims to investigate the behaviour of Malaysian sub-bituminous coal (Mukah Balingian), oil palm biomass (empty fruit bunches (EFB), kernel shell (PKS) and mesocarp fibre (PMF)) and their respective blends during pyrolysis using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The coal/palm biomass blends were prepared at six different weight ratios and experiments were carried out under dynamic conditions using nitrogen as inert gas at various heating rates to ramp the temperature from 25 degrees C to 900 degrees C. The derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) results show that thermal decomposition of EFB, PMF and PKS exhibit one, two and three distinct evolution profiles, respectively. Apparently, the thermal profiles of the coal/oil palm biomass blends appear to correlate with the percentage of bi... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276899 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276898&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153634%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hsu HF, Jhuo YS, Kumar M, Ma YS, Lin JG The effect of a sulfate reducing bacteria immobilized in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) on simultaneous sulfate reduction and copper removal was investigated. Batch experiments were designed using central composite design (CCD) with two parameters, i.e. the copper concentration (10-100mg/L), and the quantity of immobilized SRB in culture solution (19-235mg of VSS/L). Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to model the experimental data, and to identify optimal conditions for the maximum sulfate reduction and copper removal. Under optimum condition, i.e. approximately 138.5mg VSS/L of sulfate reducing bacteria immobilized in PVA, and approximately 51.5mg/L of copper, the maximum sulfate reduction rate was 1.57d(-1) as based on the first-ord... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276898 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276898 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276897&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153635%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rodrigues MS, Ferreira LS, Converti A, Sato S, Carvalho JC Arthrospiraplatensis was cultivated in minitanks at 13klux, using a mixture of KNO(3) and NH(4)Cl as nitrogen source. Fed-batch daily supply of NH(4)Cl at exponentially-increasing feeding rate allowed preventing ammonia toxicity and nitrogen deficiency, providing high maximum cell concentration (X(m)) and high-quality biomass (21.85mg chlorophyll g cells(-1); 20.5% lipids; 49.8% proteins). A central composite design combined to response surface methodology was utilized to determine the relationships between responses (X(m), cell productivity and nitrogen-to-cell conversion factor) and independent variables (KNO(3) and NH(4)Cl concentrations). Under optimum conditions (15.5mM KNO(3); 14.1mM NH(4)Cl), X(m) was 4327mgL(-1... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276897 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276896&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153636%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Pan P, Hu C, Yang W, Li Y, Dong L, Zhu L, Tong D, Qing R, Fan Y Nannochloropsis sp. (a kind of green microalga) residue was pyrolyzed without catalyst or with different amount of HZSM-5 catalyst in a fixed bed reactor in nitrogen flow. The effects of pyrolysis parameters such as temperature and catalyst-to-material ratio on product yields were studied. The bio-oils obtained were analyzed by elemental, GC-MS and FTIR analysis. The results indicated that the bio-oils from catalytic pyrolysis of Nannochloropsis sp. residue (BOCP) had lower oxygen content (19.5wt.%) and higher heating-value (32.7MJkg(-1)) than those obtained from direct pyrolysis (BODP) which had an oxygen content of 30.1wt.% and heating-value of 24.6MJkg(-1). The BODP mainly consisted of long carbon chain compoun... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276896 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276896 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276895&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153637%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Shatalov AA, Pereira H The effect of solvent and catalyst concentration, pH and ionic strength on ozone bleaching of commercial eucalypt kraft pulp in acetone-water solution in the presence of Keggin-type heteropolyanion [PMo(7)V(5)O(40)](8-) (HPA-5) has been examined and compared with conventional (solvent/catalyst free) ozonation systems. The solvent content and medium acidity were found to be the principal factors affecting ozonation efficiency. Increase in acetone concentration from 6% to 60% (w/w) led to gain in pulp brightness by 20.6% and delignification degree by 28.4%. Within the operative pH 1-2 range required for ozonation, the increase in pulp brightness by 7.6% and delignification degree by 18.1% was observed with acidity change from pH 1 to 2. The HPA-5 concentra... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276895 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276895 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276894&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153638%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, this new technique could be exploited for the enhanced production of side-chain modulated functional MCL-PHA with improved physicochemical properties in P. fluorescens BM07. PMID: 20153638 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bioresource Technology) Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276894 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276894 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276893&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153639%26dopt%3DAbstract The objectives of this study were to determine the performance and exhaust emissions of a commercial 5.5kW generator modified for operation with 100% syngas at different syngas flows and to compare the results with those obtained for gasoline operation at same electrical power. The maximum electrical power output for syngas operation was 1392W and that for gasoline operation was 2451W. However, the overall efficiency of the generator at maximum electrical power output for both the fuels were found to be the same. The concentrations of CO and NO(x) in the generator exhaust were lower for the syngas operation, respectively by 30-96% and 54-84% compared to the gasoline operation. However, the concentrations of CO(2) in the generator exhaust were significantly higher by 33-167% for the syngas ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276893 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276893 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276892&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153640%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Martel CM, Warrilow AG, Jackson CJ, Mullins JG, Togawa RC, Parker JE, Morris MS, Donnison IS, Kelly DE, Kelly SL Microbial inulinases find application in food, pharmaceutical and biofuel industries. Here, a novel Lactobacillus paracasei beta-fructosidase was overexpressed as truncated cytosolic protein ((t)fosEp) in Escherichia coli. Purified (t)fosEp was thermostable (10-50 degrees C) with a pH optimum of 5; it showed highest affinity for bacterial levan (beta[2-6] linked fructose) followed by nystose, chicory inulin, 1-kestose (beta[2-1] linkages) and sucrose (K(m) values of 0.5, 15, 15.6, 49 and 398mM, respectively). Hydrolysis of polyfructose moieties in agriculturally-sourced grass juice (GJ) with (t)fosEp resulted in the release of >13mg/ml more bioavailable fructose ... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276892 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276892 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3276891&cid=s_34563_70_f&fid=34563&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20153641%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yu C, Zheng Y, Cheng YS, Jenkins BM, Zhang R, Vandergheynst JS Leaching was studied for its application in extracting inorganic and organic constituents from fresh fermented grape pomace, air-dried fermented grape pomace and air-dried sugar beet pulp. Samples of each feedstock were leached in water at ambient temperature for 30 or 120min at dry solid-to-liquid ratios of 1/20 and 1/50kg/L. Leaching removed 82% of sodium, 86% of potassium, and 76% of chlorine from sugar beet pulp, and reduced total ash concentration in air-dry fermented grape pomace from 8.2% to 2.9% of dry matter, 8.2% to 4.4% in fresh fermented grape pomace, and 12.5% to 5.4% in sugar beet pulp. Glycerol (7-11mg/dry g), ethanol (131-158mg/dry g), and acetic acid (24-31mg/dry g) were also extracted from ferment... Bioresource Technology journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3276891 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3276891