A new method for recovery of cellulose from lignocellulosic bio-waste: Pile processing

Effect of Anthocyanin-Enriched Brine on Nutritional, Functional and Sensory Properties of Pickled Baby Corn

Considering the great potential of black soybean seed coat as a source of bioactive compounds, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of anthocyanin-rich brine from the seed coat on functional properties of pickled baby corn, as well as its sensory properties. Given that the ears of sweet corn, popping corn and semi-flint corn were used for pickling in the pre-pollination phase, the effect of genotype and its growing stage on the chemical composition of Baby corn product was also taken into consideration. The brine of black soybean with a total anthocyanins content of 11,882.9 mg CGE/kg (cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalent) and an antioxidant capacity of 399.5 mmol Trolox Eq/kg determined by QUENCHER method had a positive impact on the functional potential of baby corn products. The content of total anthocyanins in the obtained products ranged from 748.6 to 881.2 mg CGE/kg, the predominant anthocyanin was cyanidin-3-glucoside (184.6 to 247.5 μg/g), while their colour was red. Compared to the commercial sample, baby corn products pickled in the enriched solution had a 26% to 46% and 17% to 26% higher content of total free phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity, respectively. Contrarily, the control sample had higher sugar and fibre content. As established, pickled popping corn had the best sensory properties.

Cellulose Recovery from Agri-Food Residues by Effective Cavitational Treatments

Residual biomass from agri-food production chain and forestry are available in huge amounts for further valorisation processes. Delignification is usually the crucial step in the production of biofuels by fermentation as well as in the conversion of cellulose into high added-value compounds. High-intensity ultrasound (US) and hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) have been widely exploited as effective pretreatment techniques for biomass conversion and in particular for cellulose recovery. Due to their peculiar mechanisms, cavitational treatments promote an effective lignocellulosic matrix dismantling with delignification at low temperature (35–50 °C). Cavitation also promotes cellulose decrystallization due to a partial depolymerization. The aim of this review is to highlight recent advances in US and HC-assisted delignification and further cellulose recovery and valorisation.

Chemical and Structural Characterization of Maize Stover Fractions in Aspect of Its Possible Applications

In the last decade, an increasingly common method of maize stover management is to use it for energy generation, including anaerobic digestion for biogas production. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide a chemical and structural characterization of maize stover fractions and, based on these parameters, to evaluate the potential application of these fractions, including for biogas production. In the study, maize stover fractions, including cobs, husks, leaves and stalks, were used. The biomass samples were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction and analysis of elemental composition. Among all maize stover fractions, stalks showed the highest C:N ratio, degree of crystallinity and cellulose and lignin contents. The high crystallinity index of stalks (38%) is associated with their high cellulose content (44.87%). FTIR analysis showed that the spectrum of maize stalks is characterized by the highest intensity of bands at 1512 cm^-1 and 1384 cm^-1, which are the characteristic bands of lignin and cellulose. Obtained results indicate that the maize stover fraction has an influence on the chemical and structural parameters. Moreover, presented results indicate that stalks are characterized by the most favorable chemical parameters for biogas production.

Evaluation and characterization of novel sources of sustainable lignocellulosic residues for bioethanol production using ultrasound-assisted alkaline pre-treatment

In recent years, research is focused on finding a sustainable and eco-friendly lignocellulosic biomass for the effective production of bioethanol to meet the world's energy demand. The present study investigates the bioethanol production potential of four different lignocellulosic biomass residues viz., Saccharum arundinaceum (hardy sugar cane), Arundo donax (giant reed), Typha angustifolia (narrow-leaved cattail), and Ipomoea carnea (pink morning glory). The maximum reducing sugar release showed 185.00 ± 1.57, 213.73 ± 3.47, 187.57 ± 2.14, 294.08 ± 3.98 mg/g and fermentation efficiency of 72.60 ± 8.17%, 82.59 ± 7.42%, 77.45 ± 7.35%, and 85.04 ± 8.37% which was analyzed by estimating the percentage of bioethanol yield were achieved for Saccharum arundinaceum, Arundo donax, Typha angustifolia, and Ipomoea carnea, respectively. The chemical composition of biomass was characterized using National Renewable Energy Limited (NREL) protocol. The effect of ultrasound (US)-assisted alkaline pre-treatment on the four biomasses was characterized by different techniques. The cavitation phenomena of US-assisted alkaline pre-treatment was evident from the decreased value of lignin percentage, increased surface porosity and area, changes in crystallinity index (CrI) values and in the functional groups of biomass. The results revealed that all the four lignocellulosic biomass residues could be utilized as an effective and sustainable source for the production of bioethanol using US-assisted sodium hydroxide as a pre-treatment tool.

Sequential white-rot and brown-rot fungal pretreatment of wheat straw as a promising alternative for complementary mild treatments

White-rot and brown-rot fungi have complementary mechanisms to selectively degrade lignin and holocellullose, respectively. Thereby, a fungal co-culture of a white-rot and a brown-rot fungal could result in efficient strategy for a mild lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment. In this work, single, sequential and co-inoculation of the selective-lignin degrading white-rot fungus Ganoderma lobatum and the brown-rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum were evaluated as biological pretreatments of wheat straw to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. The single cultures of G. lobatum and G. trabeum exhibited preferential degradation of lignin and hemicellulose, respectively. The total crystallinity index decreased in samples pretreated with G. trabeum but not with G. lobatum. The pretreatment with single cultures of G. lobatum or G. trabeum increased glucose yields by 43.6% and 26.1% respectively compared to untreated straw. Although co-inoculation resulted in higher yields of glucose when compared with single cultures, only a slight synergistic effect between fungi was observed. Contrary, the sequential inoculation of G. lobatum incubated for 10 days followed by G. trabeum incubated for 10 days more showed a strong synergic effect on enzymatic hydrolysis. This sequential culture showed the highest glucose yield (191.5 mg g^-1 wheat straw), 2.8-fold higher than untreated wheat straw, and 140-150% higher than the single-cultures of G. lobatum and G. trabeum, respectively.